The Assistant
by thesiriuswriter
Summary: Harry Potter works in the Ministry and is in need of a new assistant. His girlfriend has managed to get rid of all his previous assistants but when Hermione comes to work, Miss Weasley gets a rude shock.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone,_

_I have a Harry Potter story for you, Harry works in the ministry and Hermione becomes his assistant. The only problem is Harry's girlfriend, Ginny, doesn't like competition._

_Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling, nor am I making any money off this... LoL Just like playing in her world._

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**The Assistant**

**Chapter 1**

Harry Potter was a successful man. After he defeated Voldemort, his arch nemesis, he finished his schooling with his best friends, Ginny and Ron Weasley. They were brother and sister and up to four years ago, Harry felt like a brother too. That was until he saw Ginny in a new light. In Harry's seventh year he had a relationship with Ginny, but they mutually called it off until Harry finished his Auror training. Ginny had one more year of school to finish, so she was happy to use the excuse that she needed to concentrate on her studies.

In those next three years, Harry and Ginny met frequently and continued their physical relationship quietly. It wasn't that Harry wanted to keep Ginny hidden from some crazed murderer, no, he wanted to keep her hidden from herself. How you may ask?

Well, Ginny was the youngest of seven children and even though she was the only female, she was still left at the back of the line. Once she started dating Harry, she relished the attention she was receiving, from her family, from the public and especially from the press.

While she was in school it wasn't too much of a problem, but when she finished and started her career, she started dropping Harry's name more and more frequently. Harry's studies took him over seas a lot and Ginny spent the last year of Harry's training fine tuning her skills of designing luxury clothing and then landed a lucrative position with a well known clothing company. So, even though she was moving up the social ladder herself, it always helped to have Harry Potter's arm at any function.

Ron had married his childhood sweetheart, Luna Lovegood as soon as they finished school. They were happily married and still lived at the Burrow, Ron's family home. Luna enjoyed living there, as her family had been killed due to Voldemort's attack and she treasured the noise associated with a large family.

This arrangement sometimes caused some hassles for Harry, especially if he wanted to see Ron without seeing Ginny and with them being in the same house, this wasn't always possible. Ron worked in the Ministry along side his father and this suited him as Luna was never happy with him being an Auror.

Harry shared a home with his Godfather, Sirius Black, and even after many, many requests from Ginny to get a unit for themselves, Harry didn't budge. Maybe he didn't want to commit to something big like living together or maybe he just liked things to go the way they were, nice and slowly, (like 7 years slowly). Although if it was up to the matriarch of the Weasley family, Harry and Ginny would be married with seven children of their own by now, but luckily Ron stood up to her for Harry when the heat was getting a bit too much.

Harry was the youngest Head of the Auror department at the sweet age of 24. This meant he was very busy but it also meant a desk job. He suspected Ginny had her way with her father, who held a high position in the Ministry himself, possibly the next Minister of Magic they say, to get Harry into a safe position but Sirius assured him that he got there on his own credits and not on someone else's word.

Harry was sitting at his desk going over the last raids that his teams had done when he heard a knock on the door.

"Morning Harry, busy mate?" Sirius had come down from his office to speak to Harry, and any distraction at this time was a good distraction.

"Never too busy for you old man, what's on your mind?" Sirius took the offered seat Harry had opened for him. Sirius had been cleared of all charges placed against him and was now working as a liaison with Harry and his Auror teams.

"Harry, I have been interviewing some applicants for your assistants position." Sirius opened the folder on his lap.

"Any one worth mentioning Sirius?" Harry knew he desperately needed a new assistant.

Roger had been a very efficient young man but moved back home to Scotland to get married. His assistant before that was Roger's cousin, Marcus, who was also very efficient, and had worked with Harry when his first assistant Jeannie, was mysteriously fired for leaking delicate information. It was never proven but Harry had his suspicions that his red headed girlfriend displayed a little too much cheerfulness when she was dismissed.

"Well yes, actually," Sirius flicked through the pages and pulled out one which was highlighted.

"OK lets hear what you have got." Harry leaned back on his chair locking his fingers behind his head.

"Ok lets see, this one graduated with honours from Beauxbaton, is a muggleborn, has an impeccable resume, has references from the Minister of Magic in France and many high dignitaries throughout Europe and can also speak three languages fluently, and is willing to start immediately." Harry looked at Sirius with wide eyes and a gaping mouth,

"Are you kidding, Sirius, hire him immediately, don't let him get away."

"Ok but there's one thing," Sirius knew how jealous Ginny was and it was because of that, that each time Harry hired a new female staff member, Ginny had them sacked or moved to a different department. This did not go unnoticed by Sirius which was why he wanted to pass the information by Harry first.

"What?"

"It's a woman!" Harry got up out of his seat and walked around to the front of his desk closer to Sirius.

"Sirius, forget it, I am sure she is fine, but you know what happens here, Ginny has a say in everything. It's not worth it, the woman will probably be sacked the minute she walks in," Harry ran his hand through his hair, he could tell another argument with Sirius was on it's way.

"Harry, this is ridiculous, you have to say something. She cannot run your life forever."

"I know but unless she is old enough to be my grandmother, when Arthur hears about it then she will be gone."

"Well its' funny you should mention Arthur actually,"

"Why?"  
"Well, Arthur actually interviewed her and since she was of impeccable character and her qualifications were so high, he suggested she work for you!" Harry's mouth was hanging open in the most undignified way. Arthur didn't agree with Ginny on some of her choices but when she wanted to make life difficult, the youngest Weasley knew which buttons to press.  
"Are you kidding me, what is she, ancient AND the hunchback of Notre dame?' Harry laughed at his own joke since she had worked in France.

"Well, I will let you be the judge of that shall I?" Sirius stood, walked to the door and signalled for someone to enter the office and at this moment Harry was pleased that all the offices in the ministry were sound proof. He watched the door and was preparing himself for a frumpy little old bookworm to come in and he fought to keep the smirk off his face.

What happened next could only be described as shocking.

Harry was looking at ground level as the applicant walked around the corner. She was wearing black high heels with sheer black stockings, definitely a muggle born. She had a black pinstripe skirt that came to above her knee and a cream satin shirt with a black jacket to match. As Harry watched the curve of her hips while she walked, he couldn't help but notice her flattering figure. Her face was not a disappointment either, she had a beautifully, natural face with her golden brown hair tied up in a tight bun.

Since it seemed that Harry wasn't going to regain his composure too soon, Sirius cleared his throat. Harry looked at his Godfather and blushed at the thought of being caught staring.

"Oh sorry, I didn't expect... I mean I didn't know... or sorry, my name is..." Harry was stuttering badly, nervously he ran a hand through his hair.

"Mr Harry Potter, I believe!"

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_OK So what do you think? Harry needs to find his vocal chords, LOL_

_Please review if you like!! _

_Sirius xox_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everyone, _

_Here is Chapter 2, thank you to everyone who reviewed, you guys are totally awesome. Also a thank you to those who read or have added me to their favourites, thanks so much ;-)_

_Thoughts are in Italics._

_Disclaimer:__ Not J.K. Rowling, nor am I making any money off this so please don't sue. Just like playing in her world._

_Sirius xox_

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**Chapter 2**

"_Mr Harry Potter, I believe" _

The lady stood directly in front of him with her right hand outstretched. She did not have any expression on her face so Harry felt even worse.

"I am sorry, I have no idea what came over me, yes I am Harry Potter, and I don't believe I got your name though?" Harry looked at Sirius and was annoyed to see the smirk on his face.

"Hermione Granger, MISS Hermione Granger" Sirius emphasised the miss which did not go unnoticed by Harry and he threw him a look that Sirius knew he would take up with him later.

He had a giggle and left the two of them to continue the interview.

"Please Miss Granger, take a seat, while I look over your resume" Harry closed the door after Sirius and then went to his desk telling himself to get his act together.

Hermione sat down but still sat up straight and tall in the chair. She didn't look uncomfortable, she just looked....proper.

Harry began to read her papers and he was clearly impressed.

"Well Miss Granger it looks to me that your paperwork is excellent, so I only have a few questions. Could you tell me why you came to London to work?"

Harry leant back in his chair and made sure his thoughts didn't wander off.

He listened carefully and watched her body language to see if she was nervous. She certainly didn't come across as nervous.

"Mr Potter, I used to live in London and was booked in to attend Hogwarts but my father passed away and my mother was very lonely had longed for her family, so before September 1st that year we moved to France and I enrolled in Beauxbaton. I have always wanted to return to London as it was where I grew up. We have actually met before Mr Potter"

"We have? I have never been to France, Miss Granger" _I am sure I wouldn't forget someone like you, Harry thought._

"No I was actually one of the students who came to Hogwarts to attend the Triwizard Tournament. I believe you would remember my colleague, Fleur Delacour. Being here for the tournament awoke old feelings in me and to be honest they never left. I have always wanted to return to London and I finally convinced Mum to return" Hermione sat still and hoped she hadn't waffled on too much.

She was really nervous, imagine sitting in the same room as 'The Harry Potter' but she had to keep her emotions in check. She did not want to blow this opportunity.

"OK Miss Granger, Thank you, so do you have any questions for me." Harry was sitting there with a complete mind blank, he knew there were a million more questions he should ask but at that moment he drew a blank.

"Actually Mr Black informed me of the pay terms and the holidays etc, so what are your personal conditions and requirements and when do you need the successful applicant to start?"

"I have many cases that I have to look over at all times. I expect my files to be in order and updated. All paperwork will be handled by you as well as my business and personal schedules. I have to attend many functions and also meetings which I need to be sure don't clash. Most of the time you will be required to attend business meetings with me and sometimes that will involve travel so if that will be a problem please let me know." Harry saw her shake her head no and continued on

"I can see from your previous employers that I don't need to emphasise discretion and the utmost of secrecy, it goes without saying in this profession. In my office, I deal with the most urgent of cases involving some of the most evil and vile people out there. Therefore the delicate nature of this job will suit someone who has had previous experience in privacy. Also I am sure you are aware of my friend Ron Weasley," again Hermione nodded, it was common knowledge that Ron and Harry were best friends

"He is to be granted access to me at any time, him and Sirius Black, whom you met earlier." Hermione was mentally taking notes and it itched her to death to ask why his long-time girlfriend Ginny Weasley would not be included in that list, but she thought it would be too rude to ask. She didn't know if she had the job yet although she was getting that good feeling.

Harry told her she would be advised by owl if she was successful in her job interview. She took this as the end of the interview and stood up. She shook hands with Harry and was pleased to see his hands weren't as sweaty as before.

They said goodbye and Harry watched her walk out.

Well this should be interesting.

Hermione walked outside and saw Sirius sitting in the hallway. Sirius stood when she walked out of the office.

"Miss Granger, care to walk with me?"

"Yes of course Mr Black." Hermione smiled and placed her hand in the crook of his outstretched arm and walked out.

"Ok Hermione not so formal now thank you, you are making me feel old." Hermione giggled.

They entered the lift and were pleased it was empty as it gave them a chance to talk.

"So Hermione how is she?" Hermione looked at Sirius and tried with all her might not to laugh at him.

While she was working in France, Sirius came over to do some ministry work and he met Hermione there when she was the assistant to the Minister. They had a lot of dealings and Hermione took to him like he was a father figure. She invited him over for dinner at her home one night to meet her mother, Ellen Granger. They chatted all night and then Sirius became a regular guest.

They had a few dates but then he had to return to London. Ellen was very upset and promised to write to him, but it wasn't the same and the distance eventually made a relationship too difficult. They had not seen each other for six months and Sirius was nervous that they wouldn't be able to pick up where they left off or even if she even wanted to resume their relationship with him.

"I am fine, thanks for asking" Hermione looked offended but then had a giggle,

"Come on Hermione, you know I didn't mean it, I was just wondering how your mum is?"

"She is OK Sirius, she is busy at the moment looking for a flat for us to stay in but after she is done with that I am sure she will try and contact you." Sirius looked at her and Hermione could tell he was worried.

"Sirius, honestly she will try, I am sure of it"

"I hope so Mione it's just we ended on such a bad note. The letters weren't working anymore and my work was so busy and we just ended up fighting and I walked out. I shouldn't have walked out. Should never have left her, I loved her" Sirius heard Hermione's gasp and wondered if he has said too much.

"Sirius, you love her?" the elevator opened and they walked out in silence. Once out on the street, Sirius turned to Hermione, and looked her in the eye.

"Does that bother you, you know I would never want to take your dad's place and I would never want you to feel left out." Sirius felt like it was an eternity before Hermione reacted but then she leant forward and hugged him so tightly.

Sirius had no idea how many nights she had to sit with her Mum consoling her when they first broke up. She had a good idea that her mother was in love with Sirius too but she was too nervous to say anything as she thought that he wouldn't feel the same since she was a muggle. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long for those two to get back together and maybe Hermione would have some time to find her own love interest.

Her thoughts drifted back to Harry, he was really handsome in person and he had just an endearing smile. He seemed to be a perfect gentlemen and it was cute when he was lost for words. But she quashed those thoughts quickly, firstly she never became involved with work mates let alone her boss. It made things too complicated. She knew the only person to get hurt was her plus he had a girlfriend anyway.

Harry walked downstairs and saw Sirius walking back inside, he motioned for them to go to lunch together.

"So Harry, what did you think?"

"About what?"

"Don't play stupid with me, it doesn't suit you" Sirius knew he was avoiding the subject and started to get his suspicions why.

"Ok, Ok, Sirius she looks fine"

"Looks?"

"No, that's not what I meant, I mean she is definitely qualified for the position and she does look lovely but I am just concerned as to how Ginny will react" Harry knew this was opening up a hornets nest, but it was the truth.

Sirius took his time to answer as he knew the dilemma Harry had with the Weasley's but it also annoyed him no end that Harry would take the rubbish that girl dished out.

"Harry, son, you know how I feel on this subject so I won't go into it again but I will say to you, you will not find another assistant as qualified as Hermione and you would be a fool to let her work somewhere else because believe me, there's a queue of people waiting to employ her in two seconds flat. I know Malfoy was interested." Sirius threw in the last comment to bait Harry a little.

Even though Draco Malfoy had gone to school with Harry, there had always been a competition happening between the two. One would get a higher mark in one subject and the other would get a higher mark in the next subject. They both played Quidditch and were seekers so the battle was always on. They had no reason to dislike each other except for the constant competitiveness but it might have helped the fact that Draco had shown considerable interest in Ginny earlier in their relationship and Harry never got over it.

It annoyed him that Ginny seemed to love the attention as well and that was probably one of the reasons Harry never broke it off because he knew she would run to Draco in two seconds. Even though they probably deserved each other it just meant Draco won something else over Harry and Harry would be alone, again.

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Hermione was sitting with her mum having some afternoon tea when her letter from Harry arrived,

"Well Mum it looks like I have a job" Hermione passed the letter over to her mum and while she read it and Hermione went to order some dinner to celebrate.

"Well looks like we have a reason to stay now too" Ellen was happy but there was an underlying nervousness that Hermione picked up on.

"Mum we always had a reason to stay, you just need to bite the bullet and contact him" Ellen looked at her daughter with a shocked look on her face.

"Don't look at me like that, you know what I am saying is right and anyway I saw him today"

"What do you mean, you saw him today?" This came out more rushed than Ellen would have liked.

"Exactly that, I went for my interview and Sirius was there" Hermione was trying to sound uninterested, but she was wanting to see her mums reaction and she wasn't disappointed.

"What, what do you mean you saw him, you didn't say anything" Ellen was bordering on frantic.

"Well mum you need to make contact and I am sure you remember how" Hermione was being cheeky and she knew it but she also wanted her mother to get a move on. She knew how Sirius felt, now she needed to get each of them to admit it to each other. That would be the challenge.

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_Ok that's it for Chapter 2, a little love interest for our friend Sirius._

_Hermione starts work next Chapter._

_Review if you like._

_Sirius xox_

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	3. Chapter 3

_Hi everyone,_

_She's here, Ginny finally meets Hermione._

_Thank you to those wonderful reviews I am getting and also for those who are reading, You guys are awesome._

_Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling, just like playing in her world._

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**Chapter 3**

Hermione entered the Ministry of Magic's entrance and walked up to the lady sitting at the front counter.

"Good morning Miss Granger, could I have your wand to register it and here are your badge and passes to enter the building. After today, you can apparate straight to your level, which is level 4 or you can come in through this entrance." The lady seemed nice.

"Ok thank you, but can I ask how did you know who I was? I am not due to start for a couple of hours yet?"

"Oh Mr Potter told me to expect you. You're very lucky. He is a wonderful person and so kind to his staff and everyone who works here, but.." The lady leant closer to Hermione and Hermione leant in to her as well.

"Watch out for that Miss Weasley, she is mental that one. She walks around here likes she owns the place and the way she treats Mr Potter is... well, it's just disgusting. I have no idea what he sees in her, honestly. Anyway look at me gossiping, oh dear, sorry I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Veronica Walker and if you ever need anything please feel free to send me an interoffice note. If I can help I certainly will."

Hermione thanked her and told her not to worry about gossiping and then walked over to the lifts to take her up to the fourth floor.

As she travelled up in the lift she thought about what Veronica had said, was Ginny Weasley really that bad? Hermione had read plenty of articles about her in the social pages of the paper. She was really hard to miss, with her bright red long hair and her curvaceous figure. Of course it wasn't hard to notice Harry on her arm in every photo too. Either way Hermione always judged people for herself and she was sure she would meet her in the not too distant future.

Hermione made it up to her office and since it was only it 6am, it was nice and quiet. She wanted to come in early so she could familiarise herself with the layout of the office and get to know the files that were current. She was so involved in reading through the last few cases that she didn't hear Harry come in.

Harry wanted to get to work an hour earlier so he could tidy up a bit before Hermione started working but was surprised when Veronica at the front desk told him she had already registered in and had been there for an hour.

He stood at the door and took in her appearance. She was dressed in a business like manner with navy blue pants and a pale blue shirt with a matching jacket hanging on the coat hook. Her hair was still tightly pinned up and she looked very professional.

"Nice and early, Miss Granger" Harry said in a strong voice trying to startle her. Poor Hermione was so engrossed in her reading she did not hear the door open and was so shocked when Harry spoke that she threw the files she was reading up into the air. Harry started laughing and Hermione was not impressed.

"Mr Potter do you mind, you nearly scared me to death and I can't see how that is funny" Watching Harry laughing started to affect Hermione and she broke out into giggles.

Harry found it quite endearing.

"So sorry Miss Granger next time I will be sure to stomp up the hallway and bang on the door, just so I won't scare you." They were still laughing when Harry walked towards his office to put his briefcase down. He came back out and Hermione had used her wand to clear away the files that were spread out over the floor. She was glad they had a laugh about it because it would have been very uncomfortable if Harry had gotten upset and ruined her first day.

"So Miss Granger can I go over some details with you"

"Absolutely Mr Potter"

"Firstly could you please call me Harry, I feel old enough with out being called Mr Potter"

"Ok Sir not a problem"

"Oh that will do for now, at least I don't feel as old" Harry had a laugh and Hermione followed him into his office.

They spent the next few hours going over the finer details of the job. He informed her she would be required to attend all functions with him at all times even if Miss Weasley was present.

Harry watched to see her reaction but she continued writing in her magic notebook like nothing important had been mentioned. He wondered then if she had a boyfriend or worse, a husband since ever since he met her at the interview he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind.

_There is something incredibly intriguing about you, Miss Granger. Actually on that thought, she wouldn't go by Miss if she was married, would she? Or was she one of those modern day witches who didn't take on her husbands name? Hermione Potter, that had a nice ring to it. _

Harry had to shake those thoughts from his head, what was he thinking. He realised Hermione was speaking to him so he focussed again.

"and when Mr Baldasare calls would you like me to put him straight through to you"

"Sorry Hermione, who?"

"Mr Baldasare, the new deputy minister of Australia. I mentioned that he called earlier but you weren't in yet"

"Yes, sorry my mind lingered for a minute, yes please put him through when he calls. Thanks Hermione that will be all for now" Hermione stood to leave and Harry watched her walk out, when she reached the door he called to her and told her there would be a special function on Saturday 19th September at 6pm, which they would be required to attend.

"Ok Mr Potter, what is the dress code"

"Semi formal Hermione, its a honorary ball at Hogwarts for Professor McGonagall's sixty years of teaching" Hermione contained her excitement because she had been dying to go back to the beautiful old school and here was a perfect opportunity even if it was four months away.

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Hermione settled in to her job like she had been there for years. Harry was extremely pleased with her work and her punctuality but also her preparation of files that Harry needed was exceptional. It was like having a duplicate Harry working for him, as she knew everything he needed even before he knew it. On the second morning, Harry had brought her a cappuccino and then she brought him one the following few day so this became their morning routine. Time was cruising along and it was a fortnight after she had started when Hermione was busy sorting out her files that Harry came into the reception area where she worked.

"Hermione, I will be busy for the next two hours as I have a meeting with The Minister, Mr Black, Mr Weasley and a couple of dignitary people and four Aurors, there will be 10 in total. I do not wish to be disturbed and please hold all my calls."

"Yes Mr Potter, can I prepare your office for you?"

"Yes absolutely, I will be back in a minute, I have to send an owl"

"Ok if the owl's not urgent, I can do it for you when I finish your office?"  
"No, its fine but thank you Hermione. If you could just get my office organised for the meeting. I will be back soon." Harry walked out.

She enlarged the desk, freshened up the flowers, made the windows show a sunny day and laid out some cookies and muffins with coffees and teas with a warming spell on them for Harry's meeting.

She had done this for her previous employer and he was happy with her service, so she hoped Harry would be too. She felt some eyes on her and turned around to come face to face with a pair of the most dazzling silver grey eyes she had ever seen.

"Good Morning" he drawled out. The man was very tall and quite imposing. Hermione knew his type straight away, they know their looks will get them what they want.

"Morning sir, and you are?"

"Malfoy, Auror Draco Malfoy" He took her hand and kissed the back of it and at this moment Harry walked in and Hermione felt his presence rather than saw him.

"Pleased to meet you Mr Malfoy but in future I must insist you wait in the reception area until you are escorted in to Mr Potters office, Thank you" Hermione turned and walked around Mr Malfoy then came face to face with Harry.

"Sir, your office is ready" Hermione could tell from his eyes he was pleased and she thought it may be her comment to Mr Malfoy rather than his office.

"Thank you Miss Granger, its great" he held her gaze for a few seconds longer than he should then he remembered Malfoy was in the room. He looked up quickly to see him looking at his finely manicured nails and luckily he didn't see the exchange.

The meeting had been going for an hour when Hermione came face to face with a frustrated Miss Weasley. She stormed into the office reception area and stalked towards Harry's door, upon seeing it locked, she turned to Hermione and yelled at her,

"Why is this door locked. Tell Harry I want to see him NOW" She was such an obstinate, rude young woman. Hermione judged for herself and took an instant dislike to her.

"Mr Potter is busy and does not wish to be disturbed but I can book you in for an appointment" Hermione said this last part with a sickly sweet voice then continued writing out her notes as if she wasn't even there.

"I beg your pardon, how dare you? Do you even know who I am?" Hermione continued writing and pointed to a waiting chair near Harry's door and she told her to sit.

Ginny went off her head and started screaming at Hermione. She walked over to her desk and leant over it.

"You have no idea who you are talking to you Missy. I can have you fired in two seconds. Have you got any idea who MY father is and who my FIANCÉ is?" Ginny swept her hand across Hermione's desk and papers and quills went flying everywhere. Hermione was rattled but she did not want to have a confrontation with her, she wasn't worth her job.

"You are nothing here and you will do as I say immediately or your job will be on the line. Do you hear me?" Ginny's voice held a threatening tone and she continued throwing papers and files off Hermione's desk. She did not hear the door to Harry's office open and all the people standing there watching her.

"GINERVA WEASLEY" Ginny spun around so quickly and stood face to face with her father, Harry, the Minister of Magic, her brother Ron, Malfoy and a few others who all mirrored the same shocked look on their faces, (except Malfoy who was holding back a smirk).

"D..D..daddy, I.. I ..I "

"I will speak to you when I get home tonight" Mr Weasley walked past her so briskly it made her perfect red hair whoosh in the wind. Her face was as red as her hair and she turned to glare at Hermione then stomped away very loudly.

Harry looked at the files on the floor and the mess of his reception area and knew exactly what happened. Hermione took out her wand and cleaned it up in a swish and then stood to wish the others a good day.

Harry was standing there looking shocked. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she met Hermione and also only a matter of time before she demanded her resignation. He just hoped it hadn't been the first week on the job. Everyone filed out of the office, very quietly and did not stop to look at Harry. Sirius waited behind as well as Ron and they followed Harry back into his office but did not close the door.

"Miss Granger would you please come in here" Ron Weasley sounded lovely but she also knew he was Harry's best friend and more importantly Ginny's brother and on more than one occasion had stepped in to help Harry out of a tight situation. This was it, she was fired. She stood up and straightened her shirt and her back and then entered the office.

"Miss Granger, I'm Ron Weasley, nice to meet you" Ron had his hand out to shake her hand and she shook it cautiously. She looked at Sirius and then Harry. She felt so bad for Harry and his face showed his disgust.

"How are you Mr Weasley, I have heard a lot about you, its a pleasure to meet you" Hermione was nervous but you couldn't tell from her voice. She decided to jump in before Harry said anything, saving him from further embarrassment.

"Mr Potter I am very sorry about the scene in the office, I was under the impression it was a closed meeting and Miss Weasley is not on my list to grant entrance to your office at any time."

Hermione stood waiting to hear the fate of her job.

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_Ok so what did you think, is Ginny really bad or what?_

_To reply to one review, yes Harry will get his act together and grow a spine. _

_Next chapter starts the downfall of Ginny._

_Review if you like !!_

_Sirius xoxox_


	4. Chapter 4

_On with the show, this chapter gives Hermione a bit of a background into Harry's past._

_Disclaimer: Not J . K. Rowling, she is wonderful and I love to play in her world._

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**Chapter 4**

"_Mr Potter I am very sorry about the scene in the office, I was under the impression it was a closed meeting and Miss Weasley is not on my list to grant entrance to your office at any time. Hermione stood waiting to hear the fate of her job._

"No apology necessary Miss Granger, you were doing your job and doing it quite fine I believe" Sirius winked at her and gave her a smile. She was very fond of him and at that moment she wanted to hug him but she couldn't.

"Hermione, you are not to blame for what my 'girlfriend' said and that was not the reason I called you in but thank you for your apology even though it was not necessary." Harry made air quotations when he said the word girlfriend.

"I only wanted you to clear away these files as it is an important case we are on and if you could write up these notes as soon as possible I would appreciate it." Harry had stood up and was collecting the files while he spoke to her.

She realised she had jumped to conclusions and felt a bit silly. She took the files from his hand and was surprised to see his hands were icy cold. She had never noticed how cold his hands were and she was sure she would have noticed if she had touched his hands before. Hermione continued to clear away the meeting desk while Sirius, Ron and Harry talked.

"Harry mate she is my sister, and I think you should dump her sorry arse" Ron was surprisingly frank.

"Harry, son, you know my feelings on the matter, so I won't go into it, but believe me, while you are wasting your time with her you are missing out on meeting that someone special" Sirius glanced over at Hermione and they made eye contact.

She had not told Sirius that she thought Harry was a wonderful person and her feelings for him were growing even after only working with him for such a short time. On a few occasions when he was over for dinner he could sense the excitement that filled her voice and made her eyes glisten when she spoke of him. He was not easily fooled and he knew they were both growing some feelings towards each other.

"Sirius, Ron, I know you are trying to help, but you know how I feel about this. Ginny was there for me when no one else was"

"Yeah, waiting in the winds for her slice of fame you mean" Ron mumbled this but Harry and Hermione heard it quite clearly.

"AND she has stayed by me through thick and thin"

"Harry don't be daft she only has her own interests at heart" Ron's face was going as red as his hair.

"Ron I know what you are saying and I honestly understand what you are both getting at. It's just hard, because at least I know where Ginny stands, with someone new, how can I be sure they aren't only after their piece of the famous Harry Potter" Hermione gasped at this and dropped the food plate she was holding, Sirius saw this and stopped them hitting the floor.

She knew it was COMPLETELY out of place but she couldn't hold back.

"I am sorry to be so bold Mr Potter, but you are a wonderful human being and I think there is someone special out there waiting for you, to love you for you, and not for your so called fame. You don't need to be used and abused by someone who doesn't appreciate the real you. Personally I would rather be alone than have someone tread all over me like that" Hermione was blushing when she finished and walked out to her desk.

Harry stood there looking at the empty spot where Hermione had just been standing, Ron and Sirius exchanged smiles and winks then left Harry to think over the events of the day.

***********

The following morning Harry arrived earlier than Hermione and had her cappuccino on her desk waiting. She walked in whistling a tune and Harry smiled.

"What has you in such a good mood Miss Granger?"

"Oh Mr Potter, you ARE trying to be the death of me, aren't you?" Hermione laughed and walked over to the coat rack. She walked back to her desk and noticed the coffee,

"Thanks for the coffee but its my shout tomorrow"

"Not a problem Hermione," Harry continued to sit on her desk and she wondered if she should just ask if something was wrong instead of waiting for him to spill. _Oh this doesn't look good, maybe he thought about my behaviour yesterday and is still upset._

"Her.."

"Mr"

They both laughed and Harry motioned for her to continue.

"Is everything OK, you seem to be preoccupied?" Harry looked deeply into his coffee like he was trying to find an answer in there.

"Can I help Mr Potter?" Harry looked at her and smiled a small smile.

"No Hermione, but thank you, thank you very much. I do want to apologise for Ginny's behaviour yesterday though."

"No apology necessary Mr Potter, you don't need to apologise for her behaviour. I do want to apologise for speaking out of line yesterday, it was very unprofessional of me." Hermione smiled a genuine smile at him and he relaxed.

"Not at all Hermione. Actually I thought about what you said yesterday and I know I have some decisions to make. Well actually the decisions are made, it's just executing them now" Harry laughed a nervous laugh and then turned to look at Hermione, he smiled.

"Well I am positive you will do the right thing by you, Mr Potter. That's all that really matters. You have to stay true to you, that way, you will allow yourself to be happy." Hermione accidentally reached forward and touched his hand that was leaning on the table closest to her. She immediately pulled back but not before noticing how much warmer they were today.

"Well I am sure you can afford to sit around all day Mr Potter, but I have work to do so off my desk if you please" Harry laughed and stood up.

"Hermione"

"Yes"

"Thanks again, you don't know what it is like to have someone who doesn't get on my case all the time" _He seems so sad, I hope he will do the right thing._

"You are very welcome Sir" Harry walked over to his office and then turned,

"Hermione can you make a booking for two in Australia for this weekend please"

"Sure Sir" _He must be going to tell her in Australia._

"We have a function with the Australian Ministry of Magic so can you be packed to leave on Friday after work please? We leave via portkey at 5pm" _Oops didn't see that one._

"Yes Sir, where is the meeting?"

"The Blue Mountains" Harry walked away and left Hermione to her work.

*******

The week flew by and after work on Thursday she went shopping as Sirius was coming over for dinner. She got home and saw a note from her mum that said she would be home from the dental surgery around 6. It was only 5.00pm and Sirius wasn't coming till 8 so she put her roast and vegetables in the oven and still had time to have a hot bath. Hermione was actually looking forward to her trip to Australia tomorrow night. She had booked two rooms at the Lilian Fells Resort. It was one of the nicest places to stay in the Blue Mountains area and luckily the resort has the floo network connected. She heard her mum come in and called out to her that she was in the bath. After getting dressed, cooking a few more vegies and setting the table, Sirius arrived. They spent the evening eating and enjoying each others company. They talked for hours about Harry. Sirius told them about his childhood, the parts that Hermione had not read about. Hermione asked lots of questions and did not see the grin on her mothers face numerous times.

"So Sirius, what is it with his girlfriend?"

"Hermione, where do I start?" he looked into his glass of fire whiskey and cleared his throat. This would be a long conversation.

"As you already know the three of them went to school together and at the time Harry was still living with the Dursleys, so any type of family unit was wonderful. Ron used to organise for him to spend the summer break with them as well as Christmas. He finally felt like he belonged somewhere and then I came into the picture. Its funny actually at first he thought I killed Lilly and James. Like I could kill my best friends." Sirius shook his head, obviously trying to forget some painful memories.

"Anyway one night in the shrieking shack, he pulled his wand on me and demanded I go back to Azkaban. It was only because of Peter Pedigrew exposing himself that Harry believed I was innocent. After a long court case I was cleared and I offered Harry to come and live with me. To say he was ecstatic was an understatement. He moved in immediately and it wasn't until 6 months later that I found out what the Dursley's really did to him." Hermione gasped, she hadn't known any of this.

"Harry kept having these horrible nightmares, and I just put it down to all the pressure of Voldemort until one night he started saying 'Uncle Vernon' over and over again. I woke him up and he finally confided in me. The Dursley's treated him worse than you would treat a leper." Sirius stopped again deep in thought and Ellen poured him another drink.

"Thank you love, anyway that story is for another time. Getting back to the little red haired bitch. I am not completely sure but I think she is telling Harry the same things Vernon told him. She knew about his mistreatment at that house, hell, her and Ron rescued him one night when they had locked him in his room and threatened to keep him there through the next term of Hogwarts."

"Hold on Sirius, do you mean she is emotionally blackmailing him?"

"Exactly Mione, she plays on the treatment he got from those people and she knows what buttons to push, Oh Harry no one will want you, I am doing you a favour, they are only after your money darrrlllling, etc etc." Sirius did his imitation of her voice and Ellen and Sirius laughed.

Hermione didn't find anything funny about it at all.

"Mum tomorrow night I will be leaving for a weekend in Australia with work"

"OK Love not a problem" Sirius looked at her strangely and she was going to ask him about it but decided not to. She had a lot on her mind and decided to call it a night. She gave Sirius a hug and a kiss on the cheek as well as her Mum and left the two love birds to have some time alone.

She went to her room and packed her bag and then shrunk it down to fit in her work bag. She didn't want to have to apparate home as she probably wouldn't have that much time.

Hermione settled into bed but what she didn't know was that she would have a very restless night indeed. Her dreams were haunted with a beautiful man whose green eyes were filled with pain and an evil dragon with red hair, dragging him on a chain. Hermione woke up in a sweat but it was only 3am so she tried to go back to sleep, not that her dreams were pleasant the second time around.

No, not at all.

* * *

_OK so next chapter is in Australia._

_Hope you like it, sorry I was going to fit Ginny in here but I wanted Hermione to have a background of Harry first._

_Review if you like !!_

_Sirius xox_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi Everyone,_

_Australia was going to be one chapter but it was a bit too much to put in so it will be continued next Chapter and of course Ginny will make her appearance next Chapter._

_Hope you like it, there's a little bit of fluffy goodness for Harry and Hermione but not too much. LOL_

_Sirius xoxo_

* * *

Chapter 5

The resort was absolutely stunning. It was surrounded by the most beautiful scenery Hermione had ever seen. They approached the desk and Hermione gave the booking name,

"Good morning Mr Potter, Miss Granger" the attended escorted them to the house where they would be staying.

"All the Ministry party will be staying together Mr Potter, we hope this will be to your liking. It was requested by the Australian minister Mr Palmer that everyone be together."

They walked around the beautiful landscaped gardens and saw a stunning white house.

"Here we are, I will take your bags to your rooms. If you need anything please use the phone over there by the wall and ask for Robert. Enjoy your stay."

Harry walked towards the meeting room and Hermione followed Robert to the rooms to make sure it was suitable for her boss. Everything was tastefully decorated and spacious. Her room and Harry's room were adjoining and she found out later that she was the only assistant who was invited to come along, hence the adjoining rooms.

Hermione went to meet up with Harry and found him talking to some gentleman, only one she recognised. She approached Harry and she was very glad she grabbed her notebook since she was feeling a bit nervous.

"May I introduce Hermione Granger, Hermione, this is Mr Palmer, the Australian Minister of Magic, Mr Baldasare, the deputy Minister and.." Harry was interrupted by the man he had just introduced,

"Miss Granger is that you, it is nice to put a face to the lovely voice I have conversed with over the past few weeks."

"Nice to finally meet you Mr Baldasare, how is your wife recovering from her operation?"

"Oh wonderfully, thank you for asking, she will be pleased you asked after her"

"Pleasure Sir, send her my regards please" Hermione then turned to the Minister and greeted him

"Mr Palmer, congratulations on your appointment of Australian Minister, I believe you are the youngest Minister to date"

"Oh Miss Granger, you flatter me" Mr Palmer was only two years younger than Mr Robinson, the London's Minister, but he was still the youngest all the same.

Harry was completely shocked, he couldn't believe how Hermione handled herself around such important people. She had them eating out of her hand. Ginny would be gushing and making a complete fool of herself by now and certainly not able to hold a conversation.

Not Hermione.

No, she has composed herself in a professional manner and these men were almost grovelling at her feet. She knew personal details about her hosts and used the information at the right time. She was amazing.

The third man who was standing with the group was a young man, probably about 30. He was tall and rather good looking. He had a tanned body and looked like he lived in a gym. His voice was drawn out like the Auror Hermione met in Harry's office, Malfoy.

"Miss Granger, David, David Walker, it is a pleasure to meet you" The hair on Harry's neck bristled and he stepped closer to Hermione placing his hand on the small of her back. Hermione was surprised but did not give it away.

"Mr Walker, the head of the Auror department, nice to meet you. Congratulations on the capture of those five death eaters last week at the bay. It was very well executed." Hermione gave his hand a shake and he let out a laugh.

"Well Miss Granger, your reputation precedes you but I find it does not give you enough credit. Not only are you smart and efficient but you are beautiful too" Hermione nodded at the compliment but did not comment. Harry's hand had moved around to her waist and she noticed the grip tightening.

"Well, if you should ever want a change of scenery from dreary London... or your boss" David looked at Harry and his grip tightened even more.

"Then, please remember you have a job in Australia, any time you should want one"

"Thank you very much but I am more than happy where I am" Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and loosened his grip on Hermione's waist.

"Hermione, there are some other people we need to greet, please excuse us gentlemen" Harry nodded and guided her around to see Sirius, Mr Robinson and when he saw Mr Weasley, Harry dropped his hand.

"Harry, Hermione, how are you both?" Mr Weasley's smile was very infectious.

"Good thank you Sir and you?" Hermione shook his hand and she nodded to Sirius who was standing further back from the group. Harry shook hands with all the men.

"Mr Robinson, nice to see you again" Hermione shook his hand and then noticed a red head walking through the crowd. Great, she was here. Hermione unconsciously stepped away from Harry and he wondered what was wrong.

"G'day mate" everyone laughed at Ron's attempt at Australian slang. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Of course Ron Weasley would be here, he worked closely with Mr Weasley and the Minister.

A member of staff motioned for everyone to enter the great hall to be seated for lunch.

"Mr Potter,"

"Hermione, please, would you call me Harry?" he looked at her pleadingly and she smiled.

"Ok Harry, what is on the agenda for the weekend?"

"As far as I know they have printed one up but I haven't got it"

"Ok I'll see if I can find one" Sirius watched her walk away and followed.

"Hey beautiful." Recognising the voice, Hermione laughed and turned around, "Why Mr Black, what would my mother say?" Hermione was holding her hand over her heart in pretend shock. She was laughing when David Walker approached.

"Miss Granger, is this old man bothering you?" He said it with a smile but it didn't look very sincere.

"Not at all Mr Walker, Good Day." Hermione touched Sirius' arm and smiled and she turned around and gave a curt nod to Mr Walker and walked away. She found the itinerary for the weekends events and made her way back to the table.

"Mr Potter, oh sorry, Harry, your itinerary" Harry looked over the paper but was still concerned that Walker had approached her again. Lucky Sirius was there.

They settled in for some speeches and then ate a lovely lunch. There were 10 people at the table, Mr Robinson, Mr Weasley, Ron Weasley and Sirius Black with four other people Hermione didn't know. She was seated next to Ron and was ….amazed... , at his eating habits. It was like he was starving the way he inhaled the food.

"Mr Weasley, are you hungry or perhaps, starving?" Ron continued eating as if she hadn't spoken. Harry leant over her and addressed Ron,

"Ron, Hermione's speaking to you" Ron's head spun around and with a mouth full of food he said,

"OH man, sorry, I thought you said Mr Weasley, I always look for my dad, call me Ron please" Ron wiped his hand on his pants and then put it out for Hermione to shake, again.

"That's Ok Ron"

They chatted for a while about Luna and his children. He showed her his photos of the kids and she could see the pride clearly written on his face. Harry joined in the conversation and the three of them had a few laughs over the pranks they pulled at school.

"I am sure you never got into any trouble did you Hermione?" Ron was laughing at the thought of Hermione being rebellious.

"Don't be so sure Mr Weasley, I can prank as well as the next person"

After lunch they were all taken on a tour of the grounds and then were taken into the meeting hall so the formalities could start.

After four hours of meetings and talks and special guests, Hermione thought her quill would need to be replaced. The good thing was they had the evening to enjoy a banquet that was being held and then tomorrow morning, one more meeting and after that they were free till their portkey left at 7.00pm on Sunday Night.

********

Hermione was getting dressed in her room when she heard a knock at her door. She knew it was Harry as it was the adjoining door between the two rooms so she called for him to come in.

"Hermione, sorry to interrupt but..." Harry was immediately lost for words. Hermione looked at her covering, worried that her robe had come open, but it was securely closed. It was improper for her boss to see her dressed like that, but she was covered down to her feet, only her hair was down.

"Harry"

"Oh sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to interrupt, please excuse me" _OH Merlin she looks beautiful even in a dressing gown for heaven's sake and her hair, my god it's so long and beautiful._

"It's OK Harry, I am still covered, is there something I can help you with?" Hermione was trying to look unaffected by Harry's staring but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Oh... yes,... my tie, I can't seem to get it right" Hermione had not noticed the tie in his right hand and walked over to put it on for him. She pulled up his collar and then wrapped the tie around his neck very gently and used her small nimble fingers to do a Windsor Knot. She folded the collar back down and noticed he hadn't moved. She dared to look at Harry's face and found his eyes staring at her and he was breathing very deeply.

"It's done, Sir" she whispered. Harry looked down into her deep golden brown eyes. She had not stepped back and was still very close to him.

"It's not Sir, it's just Harry" He whispered back and found himself leaning into her face. His eyes locked onto her perfect lips and was only an inch away...

Knock, knock.

They jumped apart like they had been burnt.

"Who is it?" Hermione said with a little bit more force than was necessary.

"It's Sirius Hermione, is Harry with you?" Hermione looked at Harry and nodded for him to let Sirius in.

She walked into her bathroom with her dress and closed the door behind her. She was REALLY annoyed with herself, besides the fact she never got involved with her boss's, Harry had a girlfriend or a fiance or whatever she was to him and she nearly kissed him. What. An. Idiot.

Harry and Sirius were talking out in the lounge room when Hermione walked in. Harry was speaking when Sirius seemed to loose his concentration. He was staring over his shoulder and Harry turned around to see what it was. He saw Hermione and his breathe caught in his throat for the second time that night. She had a simple black dress on with sleeves that were off the shoulder and came to above her elbow. The dress was made of a shiny, black satin with the top section gathered to a low waist which joined at the hip, with a huge, silver diamante circle. The skirt of her dress was flowing and went down to her feet. She had silver diamante shoes and a matching handbag. Her make up was very light and natural and her hair was left down with curls spilling down her back.

Sirius gathered his composure first and walked over to her, he took her hand and kissed the back of it. He winked at her and she smiled a genuine smile. He turned to look at his Godson and looked back to Hermione and winked again.

"Well Miss Granger, I believe you have taken my breathe away twice tonight" Hermione blushed at the compliment and looked at Harry's suit. He was wearing a black tailored suit with a silver shirt and tie. The one she had put on him earlier.

"Well, you look stunning Mr Potter. It looks like we are matching our attire tonight." Hermione blushed at her comment and decided they had better get a move on.

Harry extended his elbow and Hermione placed her hand in the crook of his arm.

They walked down to the ball and entered the room. He walked tall and proud and everyone in the room, who knew him, saw the change immediately.

The ballroom was set out with beautiful Australian wild flowers and decorations. The food was scrumptious and Hermione couldn't wait to tell her mother she ate some Kangaroo. The conversation was light and when the dancing started Harry immediately stood and asked Hermione to dance.

He led her out to the dance floor and his composure was proud. They talked while they danced and were having a lovely night together.

"Ummm, Sirius, I have a question" Ron was looking at his best friend intently.

"Ron, I know what your going to say and don't."

"But...."

"No"

"But Sirius..."

"Ron, he needs to see it himself and not be told by the two of us"

"But they look so good together" Ron continued to watch Harry laughing at something Hermione had just said to him. He noticed the change in him tonight the minute he walked in the room. He knew his mate deserved some happiness and he hoped his new assistant was the person to give it to him.

* * *

_Ok so everyone else can see it, but will our hero._

_Next Chapter will definitely put Harry on the spot._

_Review if you like !!!_

_Sirius xoxo_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello my faithful, wonderful readers,_

_Here is Chapter 6 and it's a great one for our favourite couple._

_I hope you love it, I really like this one ;-)_

_Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling, wish I could write like she does though, lol_

_Sirius xox_

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The night moved along beautifully and Hermione danced with the Ministers and when she wasn't dancing she had some wonderful conversations with their wives. To say Harry was proud was an understatement. He was beaming. He had never enjoyed these functions before and never had he been looked upon with so much respect from the other Ministers and Aurors from around the world. It was like they approved of Hermione even though she was only his assistant and the two of them being together.

They were back at the table with Sirius and enjoying a quick break from dancing.

"Hermione can I get you a drink?"

"Yes thanks Harry, just a Lemon, Lime and Bitters will be fine thanks"

Harry pointed to Sirius' whiskey and after receiving a nod, he walked in the direction of the bar.

"Well Mione, aren't you the belle of the ball tonight?"

"Sirius, don't be silly, there are plenty of other ladies here."

"Umm have you noticed there are no other assistants present tonight, just the wives of the Ministers?" Actually Hermione had noticed it earlier but thought maybe she was yet to meet them.

"Oh"

"It's OK Hermione I am sure Harry had good intentions in bringing you with him as his date" Sirius had that twinkle in his eye and Hermione knew he was up to something.

"Sirius?" She tried to be serious but it didn't come out that way.

"Let's just say our dear Harry has never had such a good time at one of these functions before and I would lay bets it was your company and not the company of the ministers" Sirius ended with a wink but not before having a hearty laugh at Hermione's blush. Harry arrived back and handed out the drinks.

"What did I miss?" Harry sat sideways on his chair and placed one arm around the back of Hermione's chair. It was a very intimate position. Hermione took a large sip and avoided Sirius' smirk.

"Well Miss Granger I have not had the pleasure of a dance as yet, would you do me the honour?"

Hermione knew Sirius was only going to grill her some more but she also couldn't refuse him a dance, he was practically her step father. After a few minutes into the song, the silence was killing her.

"Alright spill for heavens sake, your silence is worse than your grilling" He had the audacity to laugh.

"Oh funny is it?"

"Yes it is actually, you are both as blind as the other, yet everyone in this room can see you two belong together" Sirius felt her stiffen but refused to let go of her. She could feel Harry's eyes boring into her back.

"No Sirius, you're wrong" She felt like she was tearing up but fought it in front of so many people.

"You don't believe that, do you Mione?" His voice was soft and gentle.

"Sirius, he is with her and for all I know he is engaged to her" The shocked look on his face was enough to plant some seeds of doubt in her mind.

"What do you mean engaged?"

"She told me he was her fiance"

"Well, she is a liar as well as a spoilt brat." Sirius could feel her body temperature rising and it was not due to anger it was because she was about to cry.

"Mione listen to me, Harry never proposed to her, it is what she wants, yes, but not what he wants"

"How can you be so sure Sirius?" A few sniffles gave her away, and Sirius gave her a hanky.

"Please trust me on this Mione" there was a few minutes silence,

"Can you answer me one question sweetie?"

"Yes"

"Does it feel right to hold him, does it feel like your soul is finally complete?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and this time it did not enter her mind that people would stare. She was shocked into a state of panic. Harry noticed something was wrong and started walking towards them.

"I believe the words you once said Mione were 'be true to you', am I right?"

A small smile crept onto her face and she nodded, then she felt another hand touch her back and knew he was right behind her.

"Hermione, Sirius is everything OK?" Hermione didn't take her eyes of Sirius, "Yes Harry everything is perfect"

"Oh OK, well I will leave you to it"

"No mate, you can take over, I need a drink" and with a wink Hermione was passed into the arms of the man that she was beginning to feel complete with.

"Hey are you OK?, that seemed a bit tense?"

"No not tense at all Harry, just talking about work, that's all"

"Ok well I will talk to him about hassling you on your weekend off" She laughed and Harry pulled her in closer.

How did it feel to be here in his arms? Perfect that's what it felt like, absolutely perfect. Hermione tried not to let herself get carried away, but she was failing. She needed to remember he was still with Ginny and even though they had the 'almost kiss' back in the room, she still wasn't completely sure of his feelings. She knew how she felt, that was becoming quite obvious, but his feelings were not so clear.

It was getting close to midnight and the party was coming to a close. There were a few more messages concerning tomorrows meeting, apparently it was actually a ceremony. Harry was saying goodnight to the Australian Minister,

"Goodnight Mr Palmer, Mrs Palmer thank you for a wonderful evening" Harry shook their hands and lightly kissed the back of Mrs Palmer's hand.

"Oh such a gentlemen, Harry take it from me, don't let that little lady get away, good ones like her don't come by every day" Hermione was standing next to Harry saying her goodbyes to Mr Robinson but she did hear what Mrs Palmer had said.

"No, I don't plan too Mrs Palmer" Harry smiled again, placing his hand around Hermione's back.

The guests slowly dwindled away and Hermione was collecting her bag from the table,

"Ready Mione?"

"Sorry Harry"

"I said ready Hermione?"

"Oh sorry, yes of course" Hermione was absolutely positive he used Sirius' pet name for her. This made her wonder exactly how much chatting these two men did at home.

Harry walked Hermione to her door, well their door, since their room was joined.

"Did you enjoy yourself Hermione?"

"Yes, thanks Harry, it has been quite a while since I attended a function like this. Minister Devereaux used to take me along with Mrs Devereaux whenever these functions were on."

"Really I don't recall seeing you at one before."

"No the Minister used to attend the European conventions, not the world wide ones. It was my first one with the Ministers that were here"

Harry seemed nervous all of a sudden, he looked like a teenager out on his first date, Hermione smiled at him and he relaxed.

"Harry I was going to get changed and have a tea on the balcony, if your not too tired, would you like to join me?" _Wow, am I coming across to strong, will I scare him off?_

"Yes that would be great Hermione, I am not really ready to sleep yet, probably the time difference" Harry opened the door and led her in and Hermione walked through to her room. She showered and changed into some comfortable clothes in 5 minutes and was outside waiting for Harry when he came out. He looked positively gorgeous. His hair was wet from the shower and he had a black button up shirt on with blue jeans. _Oh boy I am in trouble_

There was a tea and a strong white coffee with one sugar in it, on the table waiting for him.

"How is it that you always remember how I take my coffee Hermione?"

"It's my job to remember Mr Potter" she laughed but Harry was looking at her intensely.

They talked and talked and it was actually a great conversation. Harry talked about school, the good stuff and the bad. He seemed to be so relaxed with her and talked about things he had never spoken about with anyone. Hermione told him about her mum, but didn't mention Sirius by name, only that she had met someone and had not been this happy since her father died. She hoped they would settle down together one day, "life is too short to be lonely, Harry". She told him about her job and how she loved working in France, it was such a romantic country. Harry plucked up enough courage to ask her if she was seeing someone and was extremely relieved to hear her answer. It was quite obvious actually, he grinned, then smiled and kept smiling till she thought his cheeks would burst. She thought about bringing up the subject of Ginny but thought better of it, they were having too much fun to put such a damper on their weekend. Plus, if he didn't mention her, why should she?

They talked about the other members at the party and Hermione was surprised to find out that Walker and Harry used to work together.

"It was years ago Hermione and we were stationed in Italy. We had a tip that Anthony Dolohov was hiding out there and our plan was set. Unfortunately, it was one of those plans that required patience, something that Walker does not possess. We had to ride our time, but he got anxious that Dolohov was going to escape and moved in without orders. It was a disaster, three out of the seven men on our team were killed. It was a slaughter house. The only thing that saved his arse was that Dolohov didn't get away."

"That's something good I suppose"

"Yeah in the end it was, but not for the three families that I had to give the bad news too."

Harry was lost in thought, but then snapped back,

"Well anyway, Walker was sent down here as he was originally from Australia anyway and has been here ever since." Hermione sensed there may have been more to the story but decided not to push it.

Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall,

"Oh Harry, its quarter past three, we better get some sleep" Hermione stood to clear away the tea and coffee cups. They walked inside and stood in front of their separate rooms.

"Thank you for a lovely night Harry"

"You are most welcome Hermione, any time at all and did I tell you, you looked absolutely stunning tonight?" He leant forward and kissed her cheek, he lingered there a little longer than necessary.

"Thank you" she whispered

"Sweet dreams Miss Granger"

"You too Mr Potter"

* * *

_Ok I know you will hate me BUT I am updating the next part straight away..._

_Sirius xox_

_Review if you like !!!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi there, I couldn't leave you all hanging, here is the next Chapter, hope you love it._

_Ginny gets hers finally._

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is way too good for me, but I love her and I love playing in her world._

_Sirius xox_

* * *

**Chapter 7**

All the hustle and bustle in the hallway woke Hermione up. Luckily it did actually, it was already 10.00am and they had to be at the meeting in an hour. She quickly showered and put on her work clothes, then thought she had better see if Harry was awake. She had called for some breakfast to be brought up before she showered and it was now ready to take in to Harry.

She knocked on the door but there was no answer. Ok we do this the hard way.

She walked in and placed the food the table. She walked over to the heavy curtains and pulled them open while calling out in a loud but gentle voice "Good Morning, Wake up Harry"

"Oh My God Close those bloody windows will you?"

"Oh so grumpy in the mornings" Hermione said this in a deep voice and Harry put his head under his pillow.

"No No Mr Sleepy head, its time to get up, we have to be at that meeting in half an hour."

"Half an hour Mione, are you trying to kill me?" that time she heard it, she definitely heard it.

"Yes Harry, time to rise and shine" Hermione placed his breakfast on the table closest to him and sat down with her tea.

"Are you going to sit there? What if I am naked under here?"

"Yes I am sitting here because if I leave, you will go back to sleep" Hermione ignored the naked part and hoped he didn't realise.

"But you didn't answer me, what if I am naked?"

"Well I am willing to bet you're not"

"Lucky guess Mione" Harry got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. He came out five minutes later, being freshly showered and dressed for work. He was wearing a green shirt and black pants. He looked very smart indeed. They ate breakfast together and when they heard Sirius knock on the door, they headed down to the meeting all together.

There was obviously something huge happening today. The tables were set out formally and there were dignitaries running around everywhere placing people in their seats. All the Ministers had their formal robes on and the wives were dressed up as well.

"What's going on Harry?"

"I have no idea, what did the itinerary say?"

"Nothing about it being this formal, it was a ceremony, obviously its an important one"

The three of them were escorted to their seats and it was very odd that they were seated right by the front formal table.

Most people were seated and Harry and Hermione's table was empty except for Ron and Sirius. There were eight seats available and they had name tags on them saying 'Special guests'.

Minister Palmer addressed the guests.

"Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start by welcoming the Ministers and their wives please put your hands together." Everyone clapped as the Ministers and their wives entered the room from the main door and took their seats.

"Please keep the applause coming for the London Minister Mr Robinson and Mrs Robinson and Mr Weasley" Harry looked at Hermione and raised an eyebrow. She shook her head as she also had no idea what was going on.

Mr Weasley and the Minister, with his wife, sat down at our table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a very special ceremony for you. As you all know, to become a minister you have to be voted in by your community or electorate, but to become a deputy Minister, you have to be voted in by your peers. This is a very difficult challenge as you could imagine. In saying that, someone here today has been voted in by his peers, to become a deputy Minister. He has proven himself over and over again in the line of duty. He supports his Minister and makes his job as smooth as possible. So without any further adieu, please put your hands together for the new Deputy Minister of London, MR ARTHUR WEASLEY." the applause erupted throughout the room. Arthur looked proud as punch and as he walked up to take the stand with Mr Palmer. At that moment the large door at the rear of the hall opened and the rest of the Weasley's walked in and paraded down the red carpet to the stage where Mr Weasley was waiting. Mrs Weasley walked in first with Ginny in tow, it looked like a competition to see who could get to the front first. Two of their sons followed, Charlie and Percy and then the two twins entered, George and Fred and then Ron stood from the table and joined his family.

The whole room was clapping and cheering except for Harry and Hermione. Both of their faces mirrored shock and disbelief. Not that Mr Weasley got such a well deserving position, but the fact that Ginny was there and lapping up the limelight, again.

They all stood on the stage and Ginny looked over to see Harry and smiled, then she saw who was next to him. Let's just say that flaming red hair comes with a flaming red temper. She stomped her feet, very ungracefully, towards her father and whispered something to him. He looked over at Harry and Hermione and smiled an awkward smile. Harry knew something was coming, he could feel it. Arthur looked back at his daughter and she clenched her teeth and nodded her head towards Harry. Arthur seemed to be torn between doing what his daughter wanted and doing what he knew was right. He looked over at Harry and tilted his head to ask him to come up on the stage. Harry shook his head no and Arthur nodded. Ginny was not going to give up that easily. She grabbed the microphone off the Minister and stared at Harry,

"Harry, you are part of this family, come up here, now" Her voice was saccharine sweet and it made Harry sick. Hermione turned to look at Harry and saw the pain in his face. He pushed his chair back and turned around and stormed out of the hall. Hermione grabbed her bag, picked up his chair and followed him out of the hall. She was halfway down the red carpet when she Ginny coming up behind her.

"Where do you think you are going?" Ginny was right behind her and Hermione spun around with her wand drawn pointed right at her face.

"I am going to get Harry and you are NOT going anywhere near him" her voice was low and threatening. Ginny got her back up straight away,

"How dare you, you bitch, get out of my way and let me go to my boyfriend. He is NOTHING to you and if I have my way he won't even be your boss" Ginny was standing there feeling quite smug,

"I have done it before and I will do it again, Harry does WHAT I say WHEN I say and you will not change that bitch" Hermione stepped in to speak directly in her face,

"You have embarrassed yourself, your family and most importantly, your father. Ginny Weasley you are an unbelievably selfish, obnoxious and down right rude. You don't deserve Harry, you never did."

Hermione looked up and saw all the people watching their exchange and slowly lowered her wand. She turned around and started to walk out into the hallway to see where Harry went off too.

"OH MY GOD, you are in love with Harry Potter. Are you serious?' Ginny burst out laughing, "He would never look twice at an ugly, bushy haired bitch like you, you are so plain and horrible compared to me. What do you think Harry could ever see in someone like you? I am beautiful. I am popular and I WILL have him" then she leant in closer to Hermione, "Whether he wants me or not, I will have him and I will use whatever means possible to have him" That was it. She snapped. Hermione raised her wand before Ginny knew what had happened, she yelled "Furnunculus",

"Lets see how beautiful you are now Miss Weasley" Ginny screamed and ran back towards her mother, her face was already breaking out with huge, pussy boils. They were popping up all over her face, neck, back and arms. Hermione looked at Sirius and saw him laughing into his hand.

She turned and walked towards her room.

She stood outside the door and composed her thoughts. She entered slowly and quietly closed the door. Harry was standing over by the window and sculled his drink.

"Harry, are you OK?"

Harry turned and looked at Hermione. She was amazed at what she saw, he was angry, no he was furious. It was possible that he was angry with her.

"Ummm Harry, please say something" Harry slammed his glass down and Hermione felt herself jump slightly. He stalked over to Hermione and she found herself backing into the door. He had such determination in his face, it was very hard to escape it. He reached her and put his hand behind her neck and one on her waist. He didn't wait for permission, he just leant in and took her. His lips crashed down on hers and he tilted his head to get better access. He forced her lips open and tasted her for the first time. Her hands automatically came up into his hair and she held it tightly. This encouraged him even further and he pressed his body against hers. She was backed up into the door so she had no where to go. That didn't worry her though, she was enjoying this too much to care about anything. Harry released her lips and looked at her, she was panting and her swollen lips were calling for him again.

"I am sorry Hermione" and with that he apparated out of their room leaving her there, gasping for air.

* * *

_Ok so what did you think? Glad Hermione stood up for Ginny, I sure am, but unfortunately that's not the end of her...._

_Review of you like!!_

_Sirius xoxo_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi everyone,_

_Here is Chapter 8. This chapter is mostly about what happens to Harry while Hermione is having her 'chat' to Ginny. _

_Hope you like it_

_Sirius xox_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Harry didn't apparate very far away, he only moved out into the hallway as he was pretty sure Hermione would be too shocked to come looking for him immediately. After the fiasco on the stage with Ginny, Harry walked out of the hall then got halfway up to his room and remembered he had left Hermione down there to face Ginny alone. He turned around and ran back to the hall, he came in on the conversation where Ginny had made it quite known what her feelings for Harry really where:

"_I have done it before and I will do it again, Harry does WHAT I say WHEN I say and you will not change that bitch" _Harry was shocked to hear those exact words come out of her mouth, he knew what she was like but to hear it is another matter completely.

"_You have embarrassed yourself, your family and most importantly, your father. Ginny Weasley you are unbelievably selfish, obnoxious and down right rude. You don't deserve Harry, you never did."_

Harry leant up against the wall, he knew what Ginny was like but to hear her be so blatantly obvious was a cold slap to the face. The one thing it did do though, was to strengthen his resolve to finally end it with her once and for all. He knew this weekend everything had changed between him and Hermione and he needed to be free to give a relationship a go. That's if Hermione wanted him as much as he wanted her. The next words out of Ginny's mouth shocked and surprised him,

"_OH MY GOD, you are in love with Harry Potter. Are you serious?' Ginny burst out laughing, "He would never look twice at an ugly, bushy haired bitch like you, you are so plain and horrible compared to me. What do you think Harry could ever see in someone like you? I am beautiful. I am popular and I WILL have him, whether he wants me or not, I will have him and I will use whatever means possible to have him" _Harry regained his composure and walked to the door to end this with Ginny when he heard Hermione hex her_"Furnunculus", _

"_Lets see how beautiful you are now Miss Weasley"_ Harry stood there for a second completely shocked but then he apparated back up to the room and poured himself a whiskey. He wasn't angry with Hermione, but he was furious with Ginny, how could she be so rude and say those things about Hermione. He knew Hermione would take the stairs and that gave him a few minutes to compose himself. He heard her walk in and all of a sudden all the fury that was building up inside his chest erupted. He could hear Ginny telling her she was ugly, plain and horrible. He turned around to look at her and saw the most beautiful person in the world standing there asking him if he was alright.

"Ummm Harry, please say something" he turned and slammed his glass down. He would never let anyone hurt her again. He then had this overpowering urge to kiss her. He had to let her know that he thought she was beautiful, that she was the most cleverest woman he knew and he had to let her know that he was falling in love with her. So he did the only thing he could think of at that moment. He stalked over to her and kissed her with as much passion as he could put into a kiss. He held her head so she couldn't back away from him and kept his other hand firmly around her waist. He realised she wasn't backing away but kissing him back with as much passion as he was. He had never tasted anything as sweet as his Hermione. She was moulded into his body and he could feel every part of her pressing into him. This only ignited the fire in his belly even more. Oxygen was beginning to become a necessity so he pulled back to look at her. Her hair was dishevelled, her face was flushed and her lips were swollen and red. Harry was sure she had never looked more beautiful to him. He knew what he had to do. There were no more excuses, he didn't love Ginny, not anymore. It was time to finish it. He walked down to the reception room and asked where the Weasley family were staying. He walked up to the room and if he was honest with himself he wasn't really sure what he was going to say once he got there but he was running on adrenaline now so that forged him on.

He knocked on the door and Charlie opened it.

"Hey mate"

"Charlie, is Ginny here?"

"Umm yeah, through there" Charlie pointed into what looked like a large lounge room. He walked in and saw all the boys sitting on the lounge with the exception of Mr Weasley who was talking to the Minister. Mrs Weasley walked out of the kitchen and looked at Harry, he thought she was going to yell at him but she didn't,

"Harry dear, glad you came to your senses, now we can put all this silly nonsense behind us. Come in here dear, Ginny is in her room with Ron" Mrs Weasley fussed around as if nothing had happened. Harry walked over to the door, took a deep breath and knocked. Ron walked out and looked at him and smiled "It's Ok mate, do what you have to mate but take it easy on her, she's copped it from everyone so far" Harry couldn't voice what he wanted too, that she deserved everything she got and more, so he just nodded.

He walked in and saw Ginny sitting on her bed. To say she looked worse for wear was an understatement. She turned to look at Harry and stood up, obviously her temper had not been subdued.

"Look at what your ASSISTANT did to my face" Harry stood there and knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with her while she was like this. He used his wandless magic and cleared her face up. He was a very powerful wizard and it took some work for him to clear the hex. He was proud of his Hermione. _Note to self, do not piss Hermione off. _

"Ginny, I can't do this anymore, we..."

"Harry don't be stupid, if you would just fire that stupid BITCH..."

"Watch your mouth Ginerva, don't talk about her like that or you will regret it" Ginny had the decency to look shocked.

"Harry, lets forget all this nonsense and..."

"Oh my God you sound exactly like Molly, No Ginny, there's no nonsense, there's no us, do you get it. I have had it with you and your tempers. I have had it up to here." Harry put his hand up to his head and when he did, Ginny flinched. He stepped back from her and stopped yelling.

"What is with you Harry, you never speak like this, what rubbish has she put in your head?" Harry sighed loudly and walked over to the window.

"Do you know how I take my coffee Ginny? Do you know what my favourite colour is? Have you got any idea what my hopes and dreams are for the future?" Harry turned to look at her face, "NO you don't, because you can't shut your stupid mouth for one minute and think about someone other than yourself. All you have ever done was make sure Ginny Weasley is happy and anyone around her, be damned."

"That's not true Harry and you know it" Ginny was looking down, probably so Harry couldn't see that she couldn't even conjure up some tears so that she at least looked remorseful.

"Bullshit Ginny, look at your father out there apologising for your behaviour on his special day"

Harry walked closer to her and grabbed her shoulders, "You don't love me do you Ginny?"

"Oh Harry, don't be stupid"

"No, you have never loved me, just plain Harry, you can't even say you're in love with the famous Harry Potter, that's why you can't answer my question" Ginny shook her head since she couldn't formulate a sentence.

"Ginny, I asked you on so many occasions if we could stay home together and spend the night in, but noooo, we had to go out because you had already tipped off the press as to where we would be"

"What, how did you know that?"

"Let's just say a few people are still loyal friends which is more than I can say about you. OK I am going to say this once and only once so listen carefully. IT IS OVER. We are no longer going out together, it is finished. You will leave me alone and that goes for Hermione too."

"This is all her stupid fault Harry, you never said anything before she came along"

"Yes you're right because I didn't have the guts to stand up to you and Hermione cares enough to find out about the real me, not the so called legend. You know I never wanted the fame, yet you pushed me into the lime light even more over these last few years. You are unbelievable" Harry turned to leave and Ginny spoke up,

"I am warning you Harry, this is not over, you will NOT leave me for her" Her voice was menacing. Harry had his hand on the door handle but stopped, turned around and walked back to her,

"You will not touch her, do you hear me? If one hair on her head is touched Ginny so help me, I will hunt you down and you WILL live to regret it, am I clear?" Harry's voice was cracking under the pressure of remaining calm.

"Crystal clear, have your whore Harry, see if I care" Ginny stood there liked she won her round but Harry laughed in her face.

"I might just go and find Malfoy, God knows that wonderful man is still hunting after me all these years later"

"You know what, you do that Ginny, God knows you deserve each other, and you call Hermione a whore, huh" Harry walked out and Ron got up to meet him. Ginny walked out and yelled out on the top of her lungs,

"You're a bastard Harry Potter, have your stupid assistant, see if I care but, you take heed, I will make sure your life is a living hell" Molly rushed over to Ginny and put a comforting arm around her.

"Ginny, it's already been a living hell"

"Harry Potter you come back here to my baby immediately"

"Molly" Arthur's voice was low and threatening and she dared not go against him. He had had the worst day in the history of the worst days, and it was not in anyone's interest to push him.

Harry walked out in the hallway with Ron,

"Are you OK mate?"

"Yeah Ron look before you say anything I am sorry but I couldn't take it anymore"

"No you don't, don't you dare apologise to me for giving up with my bitch of a sister for so long. Actually I should apologise for letting it go on so long." Ron had a little laugh and Harry looked at him.

"Thanks mate, you have no idea how that makes me feel. Thanks for being my best friend mate."

"Always here mate, you know that." They had a man hug and then Harry walked up stairs to see if he could talk to Hermione and explain why he left her standing there.

He entered their room and noticed the change. It was empty. She had packed up and left. GREAT. Could poor Harry's day get any worse.

*****

He walked into his room and noticed his clothes were packed and gone too. This was actually a good sign, she cared enough to take his clothing back with her. He walked down the hall to Sirius' room and knocked.

"Hi Son, what a day you have had huh?"

"Hi Sirius, a completely shit day to go with my completely shit life"

"Come on in mate, what happened after Hermione completely kicked Ginny's arse?" Harry walked over and sat down on the lounge chair while Sirius poured him a drink, a strong one.

"Ok spill mate, what happened?"

"I broke it off with Ginny" Harry sculled his drink

"yeah and...."

"and I kissed Hermione" Harry slowly looked up expecting to see disgust on Sirius' face but instead he saw him smiling,

"Well son, it's about time you got your act together, I was beginning to get worried"

"What?"

"Harry, I have noticed things between you and Hermione since she started working for you but this weekend was the clincher. The way you two are together is nothing short of amazing. Everyone else noticed it. Even after the fiasco down stairs people were coming up to me asking if you and Hermione were OK, not you and Ginny. No one liked her mate, she is just a leech." Harry was gobsmacked and couldn't formulate a sentence so he just stared at him.

"Well that may be so Sirius, but she left. She isn't in the room so I probably scared her off"

"Not our Hermione mate, you couldn't possibly do that." Harry raised his eyebrow,

"Sirius what is it with you and her, do you know her away from work or something? You both seem so comfortable together and I am just curious to know how you know her?" Harry didn't seem angry just intrigued but he couldn't deny a little niggling feeling deep inside his stomach. Even though he wouldn't voice it to his Godfather, he was feeling jealous.

Sirius went on to explain the story about how he met Hermione when he went to France one year and how he had lunch with her and her mother Ellen Granger. Sparks flew with Ellen and they tried a long distant relationship, but it didn't work out until this time around and they have been seeing each other for quite some time now.

Harry was very relieved and happy for his Godfather, he deserved to be happy and if Hermione's mum was anything like her, she would be amazing too.

"So Sirius what do I do now? She isn't coming into work tomorrow as I gave her the day off with the time difference here in Australia, but I honestly don't think I can wait that long,"

"Harry, I am going over to see Ellen tonight as we are going out for dinner, I know Hermione will be alone so why not come over with me and you two can talk?"

So it was set, Harry would go over to see her tonight and even if she didn't want to speak to him, he had to let her know his feelings, once and for all.

* * *

_OK my wonderful faithful readers, hope you like it. _

_Next chapter Harry gets to talk to our Hermione._

_Review if you like!!_

_Sirius xoxox_


	9. Chapter 9

_HI My faithful readers, _

_I have a new chapter for you, I love this one, hope you like it too. Also there is some action between Harry and Hermione, "finally"._

_Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling, just like playing in her world._

_Sirius xoxox_

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Harry and Sirius arrived home to a barrage of owls waiting for Harry. Sirius raised his eyebrows but since he knew who they would be from, he continued on to his room to unpack. Harry looked at the owls tapping furiously at his window, sighed and then let them in. They all dropped their letters and flew out the same way they came in.

Harry opened his first letter,

Harry,

When you get over all this stupidity, come over

I am waiting

Ginny

Great, the next letter was a bit more forceful,

Harry Potter

You better get you arse over here and apologise to me tonight

or else. We have plans for the weekend and I have made arrangements

that cannot be changed.

Stop being a complete idiot and get over here.

Ginerva

Then the clincher of all the letters,

Harry Potter

You stop this nonsense young man

and apologise to my daughter, immediately.

She is home waiting for you so don't keep her waiting any longer

Molly Weasley

By the way FIRE that assistant.

Harry didn't bother reading anymore, he knew they would be all the same anyway. He sent a flame to the pile of letters and walked into his room. A long hot shower was definitely called for. He wanted to be ready to visit Hermione tonight anyway. He had no idea what awaited him but hoped he hadn't ruined everything.

********

_Earlier that day._

Hermione had unpacked all her clothes and was sitting on her bed staring at Harry's luggage. Never in her entire life had she felt so conflicted. She couldn't deny her growing attraction to Harry and when he kissed her, her whole being came to life. But he was her boss, he was also still with Ginny and she couldn't put him in a position where he had to choose. It wasn't fair to him.

After the talk she had with Sirius last Thursday, she understood some of Harry's behaviour and where he came from, but what she couldn't understand was Ginny Weasley. How could anyone use someone as wonderful as Harry. She knew the family had a tough time when she was growing up, money was scarce, but Ron and her other siblings turned out alright. Ginny was just a spiteful, nasty, opportunist. Yes, that is exactly what she was, Hermione was even starting to wonder whether she even loved Harry.

Anyway, Hermione could not concern herself with these things, there were more pressing issues at hand. Like, what to do with her growing feelings towards Harry? Well unfortunately, she may not have to worry about that since he left her in their room after that mind blowing kiss. She had replayed the scene over and over in her head, he was kissing her, not just kissing her, he was melding into her body and she had never felt so complete in her life. She had had a few boyfriends over the years but no-one had ever set her soul on fire like that kiss from Harry did. BUT, he left. He apologised and then left. Was the apology for kissing her? Was it because he thought he was out of line? Was it because he didn't want her to think anything would ever come of it? Maybe that was closer to the truth and unfortunately Hermione had to accept this if this was the case. What she did need to do, is talk to Harry, maybe before work tomorrow she would talk about it with him so they could at least have a comfortable work environment again. Or at least she hoped.

Knock, Knock.

"Yeah Mum"

"Hermione, you have been moping around all day now its time to come out here and talk about it"

Hermione got up from her bed and lightly ran her hand over Harry's suitcase. She walked out to her mum and her mum reached up and wiped away a few stray tears, Hermione didn't even realise she was crying.

"What happened baby?"

"Oh Mum, everything and nothing, I don't even know where to start."

"Why don't you start at the beginning and see where it takes you?" Ellen gave Hermione a cup of her favourite tea, and they settled on the lounge in front of their fire place. Hermione looked over at it and started it with her wand, she heard her mum's sharp intake of breath and apologised for using magic in front of her.

"It's OK sweetie, it just still amazes me I suppose."

There was a comfortable silence between the two woman then Hermione started her story about the weekend in Australia.

"Mum it was great, well it started of great." Hermione huffed out through her nose but continued on,

"Harry was perfect, he made me feel comfortable and he seemed to be really enjoying himself, at the meetings, he always tended to me, asking if I needed anything, a drink, something to eat, things like that."

"But isn't that your job darling, shouldn't you be tending to him?"

"Yes exactly, it was like.... well it was weird,"

"It was like what?"

"Well, it was like we were there together, as in a couple, not a boss with his assistant. Anyway we had the ball on Saturday night and it was amazing, we danced all night and had the most wonderful time." Hermione was playing the scene over in her head and a small wistful smile graced her faced.

"Sweetie, then what happened?"

"Oh sorry, anyway the ball ended but we weren't tired, so we sat and talked for hours Mum, it was bloody amazing. We talked about our dreams, the future, the things we want to do some day, anything you could think of, we discussed."

"it sounds great, so what went wrong?"

"That stupid bitch Ginny, that's what went wrong."

"Hermione Granger"

"Sorry mum but she makes me so mad, she is a spoilt little bitch and when she didn't get her way she said some thing's and I...... cursed her." Hermione was looking deep into the fire as she didn't want to see her mothers disappointed look on her face. Then she heard a giggle, Hermione looked up and saw her mum struggling to keep a straight face.

"Mum it's not funny!"

"Well darling, if you had to resort to hexing, is that what you call it, hexing someone then all I can say is she must have really deserved it." Hermione laughed a very small laugh with her mother.

"Well unfortunately that isn't the part that has me so stressed, I would gladly hex Ginny Weasley to within an inch of her life if I had to but dealing with Harry's kiss is another thing altogether."

"Hold on! Back up there girl, Harry's kiss? What, when, HOW?"

"After I hexed Ginny, which I did because Harry had walked out of the meeting and then she tried to follow, so I stopped her which was when I hexed her. I wanted to see if Harry was OK so I went to our room, he looked so mad, so angry, I was worried, really worried actually Mum." Hermione again slipped into silence, deep in thought.

"Then he kissed me and it was amazing."

"So what is wrong then?"

"He left me standing there, that's is what is wrong. He kissed me and then apologised and left and I have no idea why.

"The tears were slowly making their way down her face again, "I have no idea what happened Mum, everything was so perfect and then it all went to Hell."

"Sweetheart, you need to talk to him, you need to find out why he left and what really happened and what he really feels."

"Maybe I don't want to know mum, maybe, I want to pretend everything is great, or maybe pretend that nothing happened."

"You can't live like that Hermione and you know it." Hermione looked into her empty cup of tea and placed it down on the table, "Well you know what Mum, it doesn't matter, because I am going to work tomorrow as if nothing happened, I can pretend as well as the next person."

Ellen looked at her daughter and shook her head, she had never seen her in so much pain over a man before, she must be in love with him. Ellen was surprised by her revelation but looking at her daughter, she knew it was not the time to discuss this now. Sirius was coming over to take her out for dinner in two hours so she needed to have her shower and get ready, he was taking her to a special place tonight and he told her to dress up. Now she felt conflicted over leaving her daughter who was in so much pain, or going out with her wonderful boyfriend. Sirius would understand if they postponed it.

"Sweetie, maybe we shouldn't go out tonight?, we can postpone it to another night."

"No Mum, you will not, I am going to watch a movie then have a long hot bath and hit my bed early. It's been a very long weekend." Hermione smiled at her mum and Ellen nodded. She went off to have her shower and get ready. Hermione walked over to her DVD collection and chose a movie for later tonight, she looked through her movies, no action and no drama, she had enough of her own. She pulled out the King and I and thought it would be appropriate for tonight.

**********

Sirius was fussing around with his tie and seemed very nervous. Harry walked in and saw his Godfather struggling with the tie,

"Hey need a hand old man?"

"yeah, this stupid tie won't go on properly, it... is....driving....me ….crazy" Harry laughed and picked up his wand and pointed to the offending tie and said a spell which saw the tie fold itself neatly around Sirius' neck.

"Thanks mate, should remember that one."

"What's got you so nervous tonight, one would think you were about to propose or something?" Harry started laughing and then noticed the very serious look on his Godfather's face,

"OH MY GOD, you are going to propose to Ellen!" Sirius nodded and Harry was absolutely shocked, he knew Sirius was in love with her but he didn't think Sirius would take this step. This was huge.

"Harry, say something!"

"U mm, what do I say?"

"Congratulations would have been good."

"Oh man, Sirius, I am sorry, I was just shocked. Congratulations and all the best forever mate, you deserve it and so much more" Harry gave him a hug and a good strong pat on the back.

"Well Ellen hasn't said yes yet, so we better not get ahead of ourselves hey."

Harry heard the floo network fire up and went down to see who was calling on them. Sirius went to his drawer and pulled out the ring he had chosen for Ellen. He hoped tonight would end well.

After a few minutes Harry came back in and Sirius asked who was on the floo.

"Arthur Weasley."

"Oh what did he want?"

"He needs to see me immediately at the office, sorry Sirius, I will still go and see Hermione but not with you, I will call in after I see him. You head off, don't want you to be late for your big night" Harry tried to look happy and unaffected by the floo but Sirius knew better.

"Mate, don't let them steamroller you ok."

"Yeah no worries, thanks anyway, have a good night ok and good luck"

Sirius knocked on the door and gasped when Ellen opened the door. She had a beautiful red gown on that lightly touched the floor. The dress was beaded all over and had a hand beaded wrap with it. The v neckline was very flattering and the red colour did wonders on her pale skin. Ellen was wearing silver high heels with a silver clutch bag.

"You look beautiful Ellen."

"Is it OK? It's not too much is it?"

"No its absolutely perfect" Sirius leant in to give her a kiss and then followed her inside.

"Hermione we are leaving now sweetie." Hermione walked out into dining room and gasped when she saw how wonderful they both looked together,

"Oh my, you two look absolutely wonderful" She walked over to Sirius and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Have a great night you two."

"Are you sure you will be OK?" Hermione tilted her head on the side and put her hand on her hip as if she was about to chastise her mother, "OK, OK"

The two love birds left and Hermione walked into the lounge room and started to get ready for her quiet night alone. She had her movie ready, she had already had her bath and had laid out some nibbles on the table. She contemplated having a glass of wine but decided on the whole bottle instead.

Knock knock. _Oh what did she forget?_

"What did you forget......?"

Hermione opened the door to see Harry standing there looking very nervous. She just started at him and he said a sheepish hello.

"U mm Harry what are you doing here? Sirius has already left."

"I came to see you Hermione." Hermione looked at him and motioned for him to come in. Harry walked into the lounge room and saw everything set up.

"Expecting someone?" Harry felt agitated all of a sudden.

"No, that's just for me, I didn't want any dinner, I just felt like some nibbles, would you like a drink or something?" Hermione was ridiculously nervous.

"Oh ok, yeah I would like a drink, that wine looks good." Hermione went to get another wine glass and quickly splashed some cold water on her face. _OK girl calm down, he probably isn't here to fire you, he wouldn't have asked for a drink, so settle down. Whhhhoooooo. _Hermione let out a huge breath and walked back into the lounge. Harry was standing by the fire looking at some family photos. The one he was holding was of Ellen and Sirius and Hermione immediately recognised it.

"Oh Harry, umm sorry, ummm but.."

"It's Ok Hermione, Sirius told me about your mum, he is very much in love with her."

"Harry, I am sorry I wanted to tell you and I was planning too this weekend, but it sort of didn't end like I thought it would" Hermione turned around and poured Harry some wine. She turned around to pass it to him but he was right behind her. Harry took the glass out of her hand and held onto it a little longer than he should of. She slipped her hand out and shook her head, trying very desperately to clear the fog.

"So Harry, what brings you over here tonight?" Hermione motioned for Harry to take a seat and he sat on the lounge chair in front of hers.

"I think we need to talk" Harry sculled his wine, obviously needing some liquid courage.

"Harry, before you say anything, I have to apologise for being completely out of line and I understand if you want me to leave work." Hermione knew that this wasn't the case but she said it so he would clarify it for her.

"OK Hermione if that's what you think is best?" Harry looked at her to see her reaction. His face was still and showed no emotion what so ever.

Her heart fell into her stomach and her stomach replaced the lump in her throat. She stood up and walked over to the fireplace to hold onto the mantle piece. She couldn't believe it, this was her nightmare becoming a reality. She started breathing heavily and even though she tried her hardest, the tears started escaping.

"Ummm Harry, I think you should leave, I will empty out my desk tomorrow" a sob escaped her throat and even though she would have been horrified that she lost control in front of Harry, at this moment in time, she didn't care about anything. She wrapped her arm around her frail body and turned to make it back to her seat without falling over. Harry was watching her and saw what he needed. He knew she would not have reacted like that to losing her job, she was so highly sort after, she could have three jobs lined up in one phone call. No this reaction was far more important, she did have feelings for him and her reaction just confirmed it. He stood up and walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She gasped at the contact and she felt Harry turn her around and embrace her in his arms. He held her so tightly and securely, Hermione just cried.

"Harry, I am sorry, but I have to tell you something before this is over"

"It's not over Mione" Harry whispered and even though she would have heard it, she was too focused on what she wanted to say,

"Harry, I will not apologise for what I did to Ginny Weasley, she is rude and a spoilt brat. I will not apologise for getting to know you and spending so many hours talking to you about things that had nothing to do with work, but most importantly I will not apologise for returning your kiss, so if I have to apologise for something it will be for being so stupid and allowing myself to think things were different because I was obviously mistaken."

Harry continued to hold her tight and placed a kiss on her head when she finished talking.

"Harry, you know what you're really confusing me at the moment?" Hermione pushed out of his arms and sat down on her chair. Harry knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his,

"I know Mione, and I need to apologise too, I am sorry for leaving you there" Hermione looked at him and the confusion was still etched in her face.

"I shouldn't have kissed you" Hermione gasped again and thought could this night get any worse.

"I mean, I shouldn't have kissed you and then left you" Harry tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and lingered his hand there.

"So why did you Harry?" Hermione whispered,

"I had too Mione, I had to fix up my mess so I could be with you the way I want to be" Harry's hand was still on her face and he leant into and slowly pressed his lips to hers. At first, he felt no response. He knew he should have approached this a different way but he had no idea what to do when he was around her. He continued to kiss her and when he was about to give up, he felt her hand on his face. Harry tilted his face to get a better angle, he ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she granted access to her mouth. They continued to kiss and discover each others mouths and when oxygen became a necessity they pulled away.

"Mione, I am sorry about everything that happened."  
"You know what Harry, you need to stop apologising every time you kiss me" Harry laughed and Hermione did too. Harry sat back on the lounge and continued to tell Hermione what had happened after he left her in the room.

"You were only in the hall" Hermione was surprised that he was only on the other side of the door where she was standing.

Harry told her about the break up and Hermione couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"Harry, I am sorry I caused you so much trouble" Hermione shook her head. She felt like this was all her fault and Harry would have never left Ginny if it wasn't for her. They talked for hours and Hermione was convinced that it had been coming for a long time. After several bottles of wine and all the nibbles had gone and been replenished, harry noticed the time.

"Mione, what time are you expecting your mum home?" Hermione laughed and rose her eyebrow,

"Are you serious Harry, they aren't coming home, trust me, it's not the first time either."

"You mean, your mum was in our place, like in Sirius' room, and I didn't know?"

"Yeah, not very observant are you?" Hermione laughed and when Harry got over the shock he laughed too.

"You know he is proposing tonight?" Hermione dropped her glass and looked at Harry,

"What?"

"Oops maybe I wasn't supposed to say anything"

"Harry Potter, you will not keep secrets from me, do you understand?" Harry looked at her face and stood up to join her on her chair.

"No Mione, no secrets any more" Harry whispered and was so close she could feel his breath puff on her face.

"Harry" she whispered and he leant in and kissed her again, this time with as much force and passion as he did the first time. He carefully guided her to lie down on the lounge chair and laid across her body. The kiss continued to deepen and Hermione lifted her leg so Harry could lay on top of her closer. Harry's hands wandered over the side of her body and the moans he heard encouraged him. Hermione rubbed her hands up and down his back and found the bottom of his shirt, she pulled it up over his head. Harry broke the kiss to remove his shirt but then found her pulse point on her neck and gently sucked on it. Harry's hand found the skin at the bottom of her shirt, she gasped at the contact.

"Harry, maybe we should take this to my room?" Hermione was blushing, or she was very flushed, Harry couldn't tell.

"Mione, are you sure? I didn't come here to do this, I just wanted to see you and tell you that I love you"

Hermione looked at Harry, she was so shocked, she couldn't believe he had just told her that.

"You.... love....me?" Hermione was frantically searching his face for the truth.

"Yes, I do Mione, I know its sudden, but I can't live without you, I find I am thinking about you the minute I wake up until the second I go to sleep. I can't live without you." Hermione was touching his face everywhere, and had tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Harry, I love you too, I have been trying to deny it, then trying to hide it but I just couldn't do it anymore" Harry leant in and kissed her again and this time it was full of passion. Hermione pushed Harry back and then they stood up and she led him into her room. The room had a huge queen size bed and there were floating candles lighting the room. The moon light was also streaming in through the window across the bed. Harry looked at her and thought he had never seen anyone look so beautiful in his life. They laid down on her bed and Harry removed her pants and looked over her body, dressed only in her bra and underwear.

"Sorry, if I knew I was going to have company, I would have put on something more sexy" Hermione said with a cheeky grin,

"As long as I am the only one who is your company, Miss Granger" Hermione laughed and pulled him in closer to her body. They continued to kiss and feel each other all over. Harry had removed his clothes and Hermione's underwear and as they laid under the covers exploring each other, the passion was beginning to overtake them.

"Mione, are you sure?"

"Yes Harry, I have never been more sure of anything in my life"

Harry's hand continued to run his hands all over her body and he positioned himself at her entrance. He slowly slid into her and the feeling was amazing. He filled her completely and she was amazed at the feelings that were coursing through her body. Harry picked up the speed and sat up slightly to change the angle of his entry and it seemed to hit the spot as Hermione was coming close to her release.

Harry leant in and whispered in her ear, "Come for me baby" and at hearing this, Hermione's back arched and Harry felt her release. He pumped into her a few more times and felt his own release take over. They both lay there panting and Harry rolled over so he could lay next to her. They both laid there hugging and kissing each other. Harry pulled the blankets up over them both and settled in for a comfortable night's sleep.

"Harry," Hermione was dozing off to sleep, but mumbled out to Harry.

"Yeah Mione"

"You're not going to disappear are you?" Harry was shocked and turned her face so he could look at her and put his hand on her face,

"Never, Mione, I will never leave you again" Hermione nodded and smiled,

"Love you Harry"

"Love you too Mione, now sleep" Harry hugged her tightly and for once in his life, he felt complete.

* * *

_OK so what did you think?_

_Sorry if the bedroom scene wasn't that crash hot, I haven't written one before, hence the delay in getting this chapter out. Anyway review if you like !!!_

_Sirius xoxo_

_PS Uni is a bit of a killer at the moment, so updates will be weekly instead of daily. It's only for another month, then back to normal._


	10. Chapter 10

_HI my wonderful readers. I have another chapter here for you. Some people asked about the talk Harry had with Arthur and here it is._

_Hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: Not the wonderful J. K. Rowling: Never will be:_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

The sun was streaming through the window and Harry was momentarily disorientated, the sun never came up on his side of the house. Where was he? He went to lift his arm up but felt the weight of someone sleeping on it. He looked over and saw Hermione's bushy hair sprayed out over the pillow. Her back was pressed firmly against his front and they had spooned into each other during the night.

He couldn't believe what had happened last night, not that he regretted it, not one bit, but he was still shocked. He thought he would have to beg Hermione to talk to him, but he had to remember she was nothing like Ginny Weasley. That name reminded him of the conversation he had with Arthur Weasley yesterday.

_Flash Back:_

_Harry said goodbye to Sirius and apparated to his ministry's office. His office was dark and quiet so he proceeded over to Arthur's office. It was on the same floor only a couple of doors down. He saw the light on and nervously knocked. _

_He had absolutely no idea what Arthur could possibly want to talk to him about that couldn't wait till work tomorrow. Harry would have come in on his day off to see Arthur, but Arthur said it was of the utmost of urgency and he had to come immediately._

"_Come in" Arthur's voice was stern and strong. Harry took a calming breath and walked in._

"_Arthur" Harry greeted him, but noticed Mr Robinson was in with him._

"_Sir, how are you?" Harry thought he was fired, he had to be, it was the only reason that both of them would be there together._

"_Fine Harry, Fine. Sorry for calling you in at such an hour" Mr Robinson motioned for Harry to take a seat. Harry took the offered chair and looked at Arthur, he was tired and drained._

"_Arthur, what is it?" Arthur looked at Harry and seemed to be absolutely torn at the moment._

"_Harry, it's Ginny..." Harry was about to lose it but remembered Mr Robinson was there._

"_Arthur, I am sure we can discuss this at another time, perhaps in private?"_

"_Harry, please listen to Arthur, this affects a lot more people than just your affairs" Mr Robinson did not say it rudely but it came out wrong. He apologised when Arthur and Harry stared at him._

_Arthur walked over to his mantel piece and took a photo of his family off it and looked it over carefully. Harry was getting very uncomfortable,_

"_Forgive me Arthur but could you just get to the point?"_

"_Harry, Ginny isn't the same anymore, she hasn't been herself for ages. Things like this weekend, have been becoming a more and more frequent occurrence." Harry stared at Arthur and Mr Robinson, he looked back and forward between the two._

"_What are you trying to say?"_

"_Harry, we think Ginny has been under some sort of spell or curse or something" Arthur said,_

"_WHAT?, that's absurd, are you two insane? Don't you think I would know if my girlfriend was under some curse? This is ridiculous." Harry was standing and pacing around the desk. He was angry and annoyed, how could they think that he was so stupid as to not see if she was cursed._

"_Harry, think about it, she hasn't been herself for ages, she has been erratic, and her outbursts are getting worse and worse." Arthur was pleading with Harry to understand the intensity of the problem. _

_Harry stopped pacing and went to sit in his chair, he put his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands. Muffling through his hands, he addressed Arthur,_

"_Arthur, can't we talk about this another time?"_

"_Well Harry, Ginny has become a threat!" Mr Robinson said,_

"_A WHAT??" Harry looked at him as if he had two heads._

"_She has made a threat against you and Hermione, she said "You two work together, so you will die together" she sent an owl to your office earlier today and it was intercepted by Ministry security." Harry just stared at Arthur, this wasn't happening._

"_Look I will handle this Arthur, leave it to me OK?" Harry stood up and Arthur nodded but Mr Robinson wasn't convinced,_

"_Harry, we take threats like this very seriously. She is on the edge and her behaviour in Australia has proven that. Apparently after you left, she completely destroyed your room. This behaviour cannot afford to be leaked out to the media, Arthur's reputation is on the line here." Harry nodded and looked at Arthur. He deserved this great recognition but it was all falling down around his ears as we spoke._

"_What do you want us to do?" _

"_Take some leave, you and Miss Granger, but please keep this quiet, only the three of us know about it so make some excuse up to Miss Granger and leave Sirius to me, I will explain it all to him."_

"_I think I should tell Hermione the truth" Harry wasn't too keen on making his relationship with Hermione any more strained than it already was._

"_No you can't Harry, Miss Granger is a powerful witch and we don't know what she would do if Ginny actually physically threatened you. She stood up to her in Australia and that was completely out of character for her, she is usually very subtle but obviously her affections for you run very deeply and she is too powerful to be put in a position where she may lose control and hex her to within an inch of her life." _

"_Let's hope so" Harry mumbled. Mr Robinson stood which signalled the end of their meeting._

"_How long do we need to be gone?"_

"_Only a couple of days Harry, she is in hiding at the moment and we have our Aurors on her right now, so it should be over in a few days. We will owl you when its safe" Mr Robinson nodded to Arthur and Harry and then turned to leave._

"_Mr Robinson, this is ridiculous, Aurors for heavens sake,, I shouldn't be hiding out like some coward, it's Ginny Weasley, not a death eater for Christ sake. This is getting completely out of hand."_

"_Harry, it's an order!" Harry watched the door close and turned back to look at Arthur._

"_Arthur, he can't be serious, can he?" Harry watched Arthur sit down and nod solemnly._

"_Sorry mate, I know this is hard, but can you imagine what it is like for Molly and the rest of us, she is absolutely devastated." Harry nodded and couldn't help but feel like he was to blame._

"_Arthur, I am so sorry, but I just couldn't stay with her anymore however I feel like this is all my fault." _

"_Harry, you listen to me and you listen well, this is NOT your fault. Something is seriously wrong with Ginny and once we get to her, we can get her the help she requires. There is a lot more to this than you have been told Harry, so please just trust me when I say it's not your fault"_

"_I understand Arthur, but I think if I just went up to stand on that stupid stage in Australia, this wouldn't have happened."_

"_Harry, stop beating yourself up over this, ok, you go home and have a rest and talk to Hermione tomorrow, but just make up some excuse so you two can get away, OK?"_

"_Yeah, Arthur, I am seeing her tonight, that's if she will see me, I have no idea where we stand at the moment."_

"_For both of your sakes, make sure she sees you, it will all work out mate, she is a great girl, don't let her get away, OK?"_

"_Thanks Arthur and again I am sorry about all of this mess, and since I didn't get a chance to say congratulations to you in Australia, Congratulations, it was well deserved." Harry shook hands with him and then left to go home and have another hot shower. He wanted to see Hermione but he didn't want to turn up there in this mood, she would pick that something was wrong straight away._

_Harry apparated home and saw Sirius had already gone. He let himself smile for his Godfather as he deserved to be happy. Harry was still thinking about it when he went to have a shower and let his mind drift to Hermione. He needed to get things sorted out as quickly as possible, with Ginny on the prowl, he knew he needed to be with her so he could protect her. Nothing else mattered to him anymore, only Hermione and her safety. He quickly dressed and apparated over to her front door._

"_Lets hope she will at least see me"_

_Knock knock._

_End of flash back._

OK, now the hard thing was going to be, to get Hermione to come away with him for a few days. His mind wrestled with the thought of just telling her and dealing with the Ministers wrath. Truth be told, he much preferred to deal with the Minister than with Hermione.

She started to stir and stretched her arms up above her head and it gave Harry a lovely view of her body next to his.

"Good Morning" Hermione smiled and turned around to his voice.

"Morning to you, Mr Potter, I thought you might have left!" Hermione blushed slightly and Harry brushed the hair out of her eyes and gently combed the rest of her hair off her naked shoulders with his fingers. It was surprisingly soft and floated through his hands. She trembled under his touch.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you, didn't I?" Hermione's smile lit up her face and Harry leant in to steal a good morning kiss and as good morning kisses usually do, it intensified and the couple didn't get out of bed for another hour.

*******

Harry walked out of the shower and into the kitchen, with his hair all wet and messy. He looked positively gorgeous and Hermione found herself staring.

"See something you like Miss Granger?"

"Oh most definitely, Mr Potter" Harry walked over and gave her a kiss and sat down to eat the breakfast she had prepared.

"Harry, you know I don't need to have the day off, I can come into work with you today?"

Harry put his toast down and took her hands in his. Hermione looked at him and wondered what on earth was going on.

"Hermione, do you trust me?" His look was so intense, Hermione thought of making a joke but decided against it.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"Hermione, do you trust me?" He tightened his grip on her hands and she looked at their entwined fingers and answered him honestly,

"Yes, yes Harry, I do. What's wrong?" Harry sighed in relief and looked down at their hands, he pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"Mione, last night before I came here, I went to see Arthur" Hermione started to withdraw her hands but Harry tightened his grip.

"There has been some problems with Ginny" _Oh my god, what is he trying to say to me._

"What type of problems, Harry?" Hermione had managed to release her hands but held onto her tea cup with great force.

"Ginny has, sort of, lost control and they want us to leave for a few days, I understand if you don't want too, but please trust me, they wouldn't have asked if it wasn't completely necessary." Harry reached out to take her hands but she wouldn't let go of the tea cup so he placed his hands over the top of hers.

"Hermione, I meant every word I said to you last night and this morning, I love you and I am asking you to please trust me on this."

"Harry, I can look after myself you know?" Hermione didn't feel quite as brave as she hoped she sounded. She wasn't afraid of Ginny, no, not at all, but she was absolutely terrified of losing Harry.

Harry watched her face and wished he didn't have to put this on her but what choice did he have. It was a direct order.

"I am sorry Hermione and I wasn't going to say anything, I was just going to take you away with me, but last night we said no more secrets, and I meant it. You mean too much to me" Hermione stood up and placed her cup in the sink. She stayed by the sink, looking out the window and she heard Harry stand up and walk over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around to face him. She turned around and felt his hand under her chin, lifting her face to look at his.

"Mione, say something please?"

"Umm, do I pack for hot or cold weather?" Hermione smiled and Harry leant in to capture those lips once more.

He tilted his head and deepened the kiss and Hermione placed her hands around his neck and played with the tufts of hair at his neck. Harry pressed into her body and the sensations were wonderful, again. They were both groaning when they heard someone clear their throat behind them.

"Looks like its been a good morning for you too, Hermione" Harry had his wand drawn and pulled Hermione behind him so fast, that it made her head spin.

Ellen was dragged back as Sirius had pulled her in behind him and had his wand drawn too. So here were both men with the woman they loved, securely tucked in behind them and wands pointed at each other.

"Harry, what's gotten into you?" Sirius obviously hadn't been into the ministry yet.

"Oh My God" Harry put his wand down straight away and ran his hands through his hair. Hermione walked over to her mum and gave her a hug. Harry was now leaning against the counter trying to catch his breathe or compose himself, you couldn't really tell. Hermione walked back to him and ran a comforting hand up and down his back.

"Care to tell me what the hell that was all about mate?" Sirius was annoyed that his own Godson would draw his wand on him.

"Sorry, Sirius, Mum, it's OK, Harry didn't mean it, we just have a lot on our minds" Hermione looked back to Harry and he smiled and stood up then he kissed the side of her temple and Sirius relaxed.

"So looks like we aren't the only one's with some news" Ellen was absolutely beaming.

"OH MY GOD Mum you said yes, didn't you?" Hermione was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"How did you know?" Sirius looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, it sorta slipped out" Harry had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Oh so did everyone know except for me?" Ellen turned and was trying to look cranky with Sirius but he laughed at her attempt and they all broke out into giggles.

Ellen and Hermione went into the lounge room to discuss the minute details of the proposal. Hermione looked at Harry and nodded towards Sirius and he nodded back. Sirius and Harry talked in the kitchen and she heard the distinct sound of someone apparating out. She decided to keep her mum busy with some more details of the wedding until she thought she heard Sirius come back but her mother wanted details about her and Harry. They talked in hush tones until Sirius walked in,

"Mione, you ladies finished discussing every facet of the wedding yet?" Sirius was trying to look unaffected by the news but Hermione knew better. They had a laugh and ensured him that they weren't anywhere near finished with wedding details.

"Ellen, sorry to spring this on you, but Hermione and I have to go away for a few days, will you both be alright here?" Harry had his arm around Hermione and she looked at Sirius and realised he took the subtle hint that she didn't want her mother left alone.

"Not a problem Hermione, you two shouldn't work so hard, you should take a holiday!" Ellen was fussing with the dishes in the sink.

"Thanks Mum, we are leaving this afternoon, so we can have lunch together in Hogsmeade if you like?"

"NO" Sirius and Harry yelled it at the same time and both girls jumped, a cup slipped out of Ellen's hand and smashed on the floor.

"Reparo" Hermione waved her wand and the repaired cup floated into her mother's hand.

"I suppose I have to get used to that, won't I?"

"Well Mum, you are marrying a wizard!" Ellen laughed.

"Mione, Hogsmeade is too busy, lets go into London, somewhere muggle and quiet?"

"OK, sorry" she whispered.

Sirius and Harry apparated home to get themselves organised for lunch and it gave the girls some time to discuss girl business. So the plans were set, Harry and Hermione were off 'on a business trip' to an undisclosed destination. Sirius obviously knew the plans and was happy.

Hermione was worried about the reason why they were leaving but she also couldn't wait to see what he had in store for her.

* * *

_OK guys what do you think??_

_Sorry about dragging the red headed witch back in but I did say we weren't done with her yet!!!_

_Review if you like!!!!_

_Sirius xoxox_

_PS I put a note on the bottom of the Personal assistant that Uni is killing me at the moment, so updates will be weekly or thereabouts, but it should only be for another month. After that I will be back to updating everyday or two._

_Ta _

_Sirius xoxox_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hi my faithful readers,_

_sorry uni has been a killer, it's the end of semester so lecturers want blood....;-)_

_Anyway hope you enjoy this, only one more to go..._

_Sirius xoxo_

_Disclaimer: not the wonderful, brilliant J.K. Rowling, she is too good for me._

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Lunch was a nice, quiet affair with the wedding holding most of the conversation. Sirius was amazed at how many details needed to be attended too, but to his credit, he wanted to be a hands on groom.

Harry was very quiet during lunch but only Sirius and Hermione noticed, Ellen was far to excited with the plans to be worried about anything. The only thing they still had to discuss was where the wedding was going to be held. With Ellen being a muggle, it was proving to be a slight problem.

"So Mum, have you decided on the bridesmaid colours yet?" Hermione was digging into her chicken salad, she hadn't realised how famished she was.

"Well, I don't know, you're my only bridesmaid so, how about you pick?" Hermione smiled at her mum and got this uncontrollable urge to start laughing.

"What?" Ellen was looking at her, wondering what she was cracking up over. Harry and Sirius were starting to worry about her sanity.

"Sorry, Mum I just thought how funny it is, a daughter helping her mother plan her wedding" Hermione laughed some more but then stopped, she looked into her salad, and felt the tears in her eyes welling up.

"Hermione, darling, are you OK? Is this about your dad?" Ellen reached across the table and held onto Hermione's hand. She hadn't had a chance to discuss her feelings about all of this yet, as the morning had flown by.

Sirius looked at her and said "Mione, do you need some time alone with your mum?"

"No, no Sirius, sorry Mum it's not that, I just got a bit caught up with everything that's all, I am fine, really I am. I couldn't have picked someone better for you than Sirius." She looked at Sirius and he leant over and kissed her forehead.

Harry would have been pleased that his girlfriend and his Godfather were so close except for the fact that he was constantly surveying the entrance, watching the back door and scanning the guests at the restaurant. He was on high alert and decided that lunch was better off being finished at home.

"OK well I think we should go Hermione, we have to pack for our trip."

"So Harry, where are you two off to anyway?" Ellen was quickly finishing off her coffee so they could leave.

"Oh Mum it's work, we don't have time to explore the surroundings of the places we go to." She hoped her mum wouldn't push the issue.

Sirius stood and took Ellen's jacket and the four of them made their way out of the restaurant.

As they walked along to where Harry parked his car, a commotion up the road grabbed their attention.

There were people screaming and running in all directions and a person was running towards them. Harry stood in front of the girls and Sirius had done the same thing. The group of people running in their direction, was getting closer and Harry decided that was close enough. He grabbed Hermione and at the same time Sirius grabbed Ellen. The next thing Ellen knew, she was being thrust forward and then landed in a heap on her lounge room floor.

"What the hell was that?" Hermione staggered forward to help her mother off the floor while Harry said something to Sirius and then he apparated out.

"Mum, are you OK?"

"Where are we? I mean how did we get here? Was that magic?" Ellen was now standing up and Hermione had motioned to Harry to get her some water.

"Ellen, I am sorry, Sirius and I thought you might be in danger and we apparated you both out of there. I hope you are OK?" Harry passed her the cold glass of water.

"No Harry, I am OK, I was just confused" "Where did Sirius go?"

"He will be back soon, he went back to get my car and to swing past the ministry to check up on some stuff."

There was a knock on the door and Harry looked at Hermione and told her to wait there. He drew his wand and proceeded to open the front door. Sirius was standing at the door and they talked in whispers for a few minutes.

"Mum, are you sure you're OK?" Hermione was fussing over her mother but she was worried she was being exposed to all of this too quickly.

"I am sorry if that scared you."

"Scared me? Are you kidding, that was exhilarating. Do you normally travel like that?" Her eyes were star struck and Hermione heard a laugh from behind her.

"That's my girl." Sirius walked up and kissed her head.

"Well, I am sorry to cut this short but Hermione and I need to take off, it seems the meeting has been brought forward." Hermione looked at Harry and saw the worry written all over his face.

"I will just quickly pack." Hermione walked down the hall and Harry followed her. Once inside the room Hermione turned to Harry whispering.

"OK spill the beans Mr, what the hell is so serious, that you would apparate in the middle of muggle London?" Hermione was standing with her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

"Hermione, can we just get out of here? Things are getting dangerous." Harry walked over to her closet and starting shrinking her clothes.

"Harry, when we get to where we are going, you are going to tell me what is really going on. You have been on edge all day and I am sure there's more to this Ginny thing than you are letting on." Harry knew it would be hard to keep things from her and he supposed he was getting paranoid. Sirius went to the Ministry and asked if anything had happened out of the ordinary that day in London. He was reprimanded for using magic but under the circumstances the incident was ignored. He later found out, that it was just an armed hold up and the robber happened to be running their way and there was no magic involved at all. Harry knew he was overreacting but he would be safer when he got Hermione out of there.

"OK Hermione, can we just go passed the ministry first?, We need to lock up the office and I want to see the Minister. He needs to know where we are staying."

"Can I know where we are staying?" Hermione was still standing still watching Harry throw her clothes and personal affects in a suitcase.

"No, it's a surprise but it is an island and it is nice and hot" Harry tried to smile a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Harry stop." Harry stopped but didn't turn around to face her.

"I can't lose you."

"You won't." Harry spun around.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" Hermione flinched but slowly walked over to face Harry.

"You won't." Hermione leant in to kiss Harry and he let his emotions take over the kiss. He grabbed her roughly and kissed her with everything he had. Hermione crushed her body into his and held onto him tightly. After a few moments of kissing each other with such passion, they broke apart for air. Harry leant his forehead against hers.

"You won't, Harry"

"I can't Hermione, I honestly can't." Harry hugged her closely and they stayed like that for a few more moments.

"Ok let me finishing packing and how about you go home and get your clothes packed and we can meet back here." Harry nodded and kissed her again.

He apparated out and Hermione sat down on her bed. She couldn't believe how her life had changed in such a short period of time. Yesterday, she didn't even know if she had a job and today she has a boyfriend, whom she can't possibly live without. She just knew Harry was the one for her, she didn't second guess anything that had happened with him, but she was starting to wonder whether life with Harry would always be this hectic.

*********

Hermione, Ellen and Sirius were sitting on the lounge drinking tea when Harry arrived, packed and ready to go.

They said their goodbyes and after some hugs, they apparated back to their office in the ministry. They walked through the halls and Harry was still on alert.

He was sure Ginny wouldn't try anything with so much security around, but he was still worried. They reached their office and Hermione went straight to her desk to check all her interoffice memos.

Harry stood with her but everything seemed OK, so he went to check out his office. After a few minutes, Arthur and Mr Robinson arrived and Hermione walked them into Harry's office.

Hermione walked back to her desk and read some of her notes. It was then that she noticed a small box of flowers placed on the floor on the other side of the desk. It was still in view, but with the amount of work that had piled up on her desk, it was slightly hidden. She saw a card and recognising Harry's handwriting, she took the card and opened it.

Dearest Hermione,

Our time in Australia was so special.

All my love, Harry

She smiled and placed the card back in its envelope and admired the flowers.

There were white lilies, red roses and baby's breathe. They looked stunning.

She picked up the box and walked into Harry's office to say thank you. She opened the door and then the next events happened so quickly, no one can recollect them the same as anyone else.

Harry turned towards the door and saw Hermione holding a box of flowers, he recognised the white lilies immediately as Ginny's flower. He screamed to Hermione, NO, but it was too late.

Hermione looked up at Harry's face and saw the urgency on it and then looked at Arthur's face. He was running forward to grab the flowers from her, but Hermione dropped them from her hands.

She saw the box falling in slow motion, but then heard the deafening noise that followed. An explosion started from the centre of the box and even in her fog induced mind, the explosion grew very quickly.

She felt the force of it, push against her chest and ribs with such power, that it threw her across the room and back out the door she had just walked through.

She vaguely remembered Arthur being thrown back into Harry's desk and Harry being thrown back away from her. She saw the flames around her body but the darkness was quickly over taking her mind. She heard popping and people shouting, then she faded out to the peace of her mind.

*********

Hermione started to stir and she very reluctantly opened her eyes. Her body felt like she had been run over with a truck. She groaned and then felt someone move next to her.

"Harry." Harry's head snapped up at his whispered name and his eyes tried to focus from being asleep on her bedside.

"Mione, are you OK?"

"What happened Harry?" Hermione was trying to sit up but she felt that she was restrained.

"Mione, don't move sweetheart, your being restrained because you have 6 broken ribs and a fractured pelvis. Do you remember anything at all?" Harry was brushing the hair from her face away.

"Umm, I think I remember an explosion or something, I can't remember." Hermione was trying to remember but her mind was so foggy.

"Mione, try and sleep, I will get the nurse and tell her you're awake" Hermione nodded and as if things were filtering back into her mind, she remembered Ginny. She called to Harry before he walked out the door.

"Harry, what happened to Ginny?" Harry looked at her and said, "It's ok, she can't hurt you anymore"

Hermione didn't have the energy to ask for more details so she left it for now and escaped back into the land of sleep.

******************

It was two more weeks before she was well enough to go home. Ellen had been in everyday to watch over her while Harry went to get some sleep. About a week after she first woke up, Harry told her what had happened that day:

_One week earlier._

_Hermione was awake when Harry arrived to relieve her mum for the afternoon and night shift. He walked in with a long face and looked as if he had the world on his shoulders._

"_Why such a long face?" Hermione laughed at his quick reaction. She was really awake now and even sitting up._

"_Ellen, why didn't you tell me? I would have been here sooner."_

"_Well, she wanted to surprise you. She had a shower on her own and walked around the room unaided as well." Hermione was quite proud of her success. She had woken earlier in the week but still felt like she need to sleep but when she woke up this morning, she felt completely rested and recovered. _

_Harry walked over and hugged her gently, he leant in to give her a chaste kiss, but he was mindful of her mum still sitting next to them._

"_Well, I should go, I know Sirius is waiting to take me to Hogwarts to speak to Professor Dumbledore about hosting the wedding." _

"_Mione darling, will you be OK?" Ellen leant forward and kissed her only daughter's forehead._

"_You gave me...us... quite the scare."_

"_I am fine Mum, I feel good, thank you for everything and say hi to Professor Dumbledore for me."_

_Ellen kissed Harry on the cheek and left with a smile and wave to Hermione._

"_So sweetie, how are you feeling? Can I get you anything?"_

"_Actually Harry, I could really do with a cup of tea, if you don't mind?" Harry smiled and took off to get her a cup of tea. He was back before she knew it. As she sipped her tea, she asked Harry what happened that day._

"_Mione, it was the worst experience of my life. I remember seeing you come in with a box of flowers and as soon as I saw the white lilies I knew it was a trap."_

"_How Harry?"_

"_Ginny always said she would only use white lilies for funerals as she hated the flowers. It all started one day when I mentioned that they were my mum's favourite" Harry sat in silence for a few seconds but then continued on._

"_Anyway, all I remember is seeing you flying out the door, with blood all over your face and shirt. I landed on the desk but I broke my leg so I couldn't get to you. Then I could see Arthur lying lifeless just out of my reach. I thought the Minister was dead too, he looked like it but he turned out to have a serious concussion. Anyway, they caught Ginny."_

"_What, how?"_

"_Well, she apparated in, under an invisibility cloak, to make sure we were dead and she saw her father lying lifeless on the floor and she collapsed and the invisibility cloak she stole, fell away and exposed her to the Aurors. They arrested her and under the use of veritaserum, she confessed to planting the bomb and it was triggered to explode when you and I were in the same room."_

"_Wow, Harry, that's unbelievable. What happened to the minister and Arthur Weasley?" _

"_Well Arthur was present when they questioned Ginny and so where the rest of the family. They couldn't believe what she had done. Molly completely freaked and demanded to know who placed her baby under a spell, but many tests were done and they discovered she was not under any spell at all."_

"_Wow Harry, where is she now?"_

"_Here in St Mungo's, the psych ward upstairs. It seems she will be a permanent resident."_

"_So, does that mean it's all over?" Hermione was looking at Harry and he reached over and took her hand,_

"_Mione, it will never be over. My life is a circus, there's always a Ginny out there waiting. I understand it is hard and honestly I wouldn't blame you if you decided you couldn't live with it." Harry couldn't look at her face as he didn't want to see the look on her face. _

"_Harry, look at me please." Harry looked up and Hermione grabbed his hand and held it tightly._

"_Harry, I will not say that I understand what your life is like, and to be honest, I am still trying to get my head around the recent events." Harry nodded and she continued on,_

"_but I do know you, I know I want to be with you, no matter what. I will stand and fight with you if I have to, because you're worth it to me." Harry looked into her eyes and she was surprised to see them filled with tears. He leant forward and kissed her gently but passionately._

"_Hermione Granger, I love you with all my heart."_

"_And I love you Harry Potter, I always will."_

_*********_

Harry was collecting the rest of Hermione's possessions when Ellen and Sirius arrived. They were very excited that they had booked a date for the wedding.

With Professor McGonagall's ball coming up in September, they needed to book the wedding after that and in the school break. So it was all set for August next year. Ellen was really happy and couldn't wait for Hermione to be ready to start looking for dresses.

There was a lot to do but Hermione was sure they had plenty of time. Harry had talked to Hermione about still taking that break that they were going on before the accident and they agreed to go in two weeks time, so they had time to get their work affairs organised.

It was a bit harder to get away than they had originally thought and after a month of tidying up loose ends, they said their goodbyes and were packed and ready to enjoy some alone time in the Bahamas.

* * *

_Ok probably only one more chapter for you wonderful guys. Sorry about the long wait. Hope you enjoyed this one._

_Review if you like!!!!_

_Sirius xoxox_


	12. Chapter 12

_Guess What ???? Yep Uni is finished for a month, thank goodness for that, back to what I really like doing, writing LOL._

_Hope you enjoy this._

_Love Sirius_

_xoxo_

**Chapter 12.**

"Oh my God Harry, this place is beautiful" Hermione was placing her luggage on the huge 4 poster bed in the room they booked for two peaceful, uninterrupted weeks of relaxation. The island they decided on was the Harbour Island in the Bahamas as this was the only island that had a magical community. The sands on the beach were pink and the pineapple fields were everywhere, the island was perfect. The magical people on the island did not wear the traditional robes as it was too hot and some non magical people made it to the island on occasion, so they decided to do away with traditional robes to blend in. The motel Harry booked was called The Cove and the room they had was nothing short of magnificent. The 'Point house' was one of the most exclusive rooms on the island and Harry had spared no expense. Hermione had unpacked the clothes and was standing on their verandah looking out over the breathtaking views.

"Hi there." Harry walked up behind her and put his arms around her small waist.

"Hey, did you make the reservations for dinner?" Hermione turned and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Yes, is 8 ok? They usually eat later here since the sun goes down later."

"Yep, sounds good." Hermione continued to look out over the water and Harry was starting to worry that something was wrong. He turned her around and was at least pleased to see she had a nice smile on her face.

"Happy?"

"Very happy, Harry, but you spoil me, we didn't need such an expensive room, I would have been happy with just a motel off the main road."

"Yes, I know you would have, but this is our first holiday together and I wanted it to be special. Australia doesn't really count." Harry laughed.

"Harry, it would have been special anyway, but... thank you" Harry leant in to capture her lips in a slow relaxed kiss. The kiss continued on and since they still had three hours before dinner, they used their time constructively. It was a slow and romantic time, miles away from the frantic lifestyle they had led over the last few weeks.

*********

Harry was finishing off his shower when he heard the phone ring. After listening to Hermione's muffled voice then hearing her hang up, he asked,

"Who was that Hermione?"

"Nothing Harry, hurry up or we will be late for dinner."

They walked down to the restaurant and were amazed by the electric atmosphere. There were entertainers doing fire demonstrations and singers on stage with dancers. It was amazing and Harry and Hermione enjoyed themselves. They laughed with the other guests and talked to the locals about the best places to visit while they were there.

Hermione looked over to Harry and decided to keep the phone call a secret for now, he was having a good time and it was the first time in ages he had looked so relaxed. Two young people came over and asked to sit with them.

"Hi, I am Jerry and this is my wife, Sally" Harry shook hands with Jerry and also with Sally, then he motioned for them to take a seat. Jerry was quite a tall man with dark brown curly hair and Sally was quite beautiful with blonde hair trailing down her back to her waist. They talked for most of the night, and they discovered they were from Australia and since the motel was for wizards and witches only, they knew they were magical as well. The conversation flowed all night and when the restaurant started to pack up, the two couples called it a night.

The following few days, Harry and Hermione explored the local town. They looked around and did some shopping for Sirius and Ellen. They bought a few souvenirs for themselves as well. Harry and Hermione had booked a trip on a boat to see the wonders of the sea. The boat trip was limited to 8 people, so it was not so hectic. The lunch they had was from the freshly caught fish from the locals on board the boat. They pulled into a small cove and had a BBQ over the open fire. It was absolutely beautiful. They had some free time to explore the small cove before they had to get back to the main land for dinner.

"Harry, wasn't that amazing, I can't believe those men just caught it and we ate it like that" Harry started laughing and Hermione smacked him on the arm.

"Don't tease."

"Hermione, if I can see you that happy for the rest of my life, I will be the most happiest man alive"

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Harry leant in and kissed her and she snapped back to reality.

"Harry, what do you mean?" She dared to hope.

Harry walked along quietly for a few more minutes and then stopped and turned to look at her.

"Hermione, I know you think this is probably too soon but I know I love you with everything I have and I am not asking you now but I want you to know I will. How do you feel about that?"

"Well, when you do ask Mr Potter, then I will tell you how I feel." Hermione tapped him on the nose and kept walking back towards the boat with a huge smile on her face. Then she felt a ball hit the back of her head. She stumbled forward and turned around to see Harry standing there throwing a small sand ball from hand to hand.

"You didn't just throw a sand ball at me, did you?"

"Maybe I did, what are you going to do about it?"

Hermione leant down and pretended to get some sand and then when Harry bent down to replenish his stock, she jumped up quickly and flew straight at him. She took him by surprise and they both stumbled to the floor rolling around in the sand, towards the water. She rubbed sand in his hair and put it down his shirt. He grabbed handfuls and put it down her dress and she squirmed trying to get it out. They laughed and then screamed when the cold water rolled up and hit their dry bodies. They were covered in sand and soaking wet but they didn't care. They stopped rolling with Hermione on top. Harry stopped laughing and looked at her seriously. Hermione stopped giggling and looked into his eyes and then leant forward to kiss him. The water crashed around them but they didn't seem to notice.

"Hermione Granger, would you marry me?" Harry was looking at how beautiful she was with the sand in her hair and all over her face, she had a pink tinge to her cheeks and the beautiful golden flecks in her eyes shone brightly.

She whispered to him, "Are you asking?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." Harry nervously looked in her eyes, hoping to see some answer there. After a few seconds that seemed to last hours passed, Hermione answered him.

"Yes Harry, I would love to spend the rest of my life with you." Harry smiled and crushed her sandy lips to his once more to seal their new future together.

They stood and walked over to the area where the boat would collect them. The other people were already waiting for the locals to return and take them back to the island. Harry sat on a large rock and pulled Hermione onto his lap.

"Are you disappointed that I don't have a ring to give you yet?" Harry was trying to dust the sand away from her face but decided it was too big a job so he left it.

"Harry, that was beautiful, and I don't care what is supposed to happen or what's not supposed to happen. That was the most beautiful proposal I have ever seen or even dreamt of. I am sure our kids would love to hear how daddy proposed to mummy." Harry looked at her and was surprised she had said that.

"What's wrong Harry, don't you want kids?" Hermione was feeling slightly panicked.

"No Hermione, I love kids and I can't wait to have a whole tribe of my own. I just never realised I wanted them until you came along. I love you so much, the future Mrs Potter." Hermione giggled and hugged Harry tightly.

"Wow doesn't that sound great, Hermione Potter, we will have the same initials too." Hermione laughed and looked out to see the boatmen coming back.

"We better get back Harry, I am in desperate need for a shower."

"Need some help?" Harry looked at her cheekily, and she said yes most definitely and kissed him again.

_OK So sorry for the long wait, but good news, this isn't the end, I know I said one more chapter, but I need to tidy up some loose ends so still going!!_

_Hope you enjoyed it, just a bit of fluff for you._

_Sirius xoxox_


	13. Chapter 13

_OK Here it is, last one 'tear drops'_

_Hope you all like it. _

_A special thanks to the wonderful people who took the time to add me to your favourites, kisses._

_To all the people who had me on alert, kisses, and especially to everyone who took the time to review and loved my story, kisses and hugs. You guys are so awesome, it humbles me._

_I hope you all enjoy my other stories, and thank you again for being so wonderful._

_Love Sirius xoxox_

**Chapter 13.**

Hermione was relaxing in her hot bath after having a shower to rid herself of the sand. Harry had a quick shower and was sitting on the verandah thinking over the days events. He knew in his heart that he had done the right thing, proposing to Hermione was the most important thing he had ever done for himself, in his life. The only thing he did feel bad about was not having his mothers engagement ring with him to give to her. He looked back at the bathroom and thought he had enough time to apparate home, get his mothers ring and be back before she noticed.

He arrived at his home and could hear Sirius on the floo network. He raced into his room to get the ring and came back outside to tell Sirius the good news. He walked into the lounge room and saw Ellen sitting there. Great, kill two birds with one stone, he thought.

"Harry, where's Hermione?" Ellen seemed slightly frantic.

"She's back in the Bahamas, why what's wrong?" Harry sensed something was up and then when Sirius turned around to look at him, he knew something was terribly wrong.

"Sirius what is it?"

"Harry, first things first, where is Hermione?"

"In the Bahamas, why?" Harry was getting that horrible feeling in his stomach again and if Sirius didn't get to the point soon, he was apparating out of there.

"Mate, didn't you get the message I left with Hermione?"

" No Sirius, obviously I didn't, otherwise I would know what the hell is going on?"

"Harry, Ginny escaped"

"WHAT?" Harry screamed.

"WHAT MESSAGE?"

"Mate, calm down"

"DON'T TELL ME TO FUCKING CALM DOWN,"

"OK mate, look, she escaped last week, we still have time, let's go" Sirius grabbed Ellen's hand who was now crying.

Harry apparated them all to the outside of his room and he was about to barge in when Sirius stopped him. He whispered to him to listen. Harry stopped and he could hear talking inside the room and he sighed in relief, it was the couple they had met, Jerry and Sally. He looked at Sirius and nodded that it was ok. Sirius was worried but Harry walked into the room.

"Well it's about time the great Harry Potter graced us with his presence" Harry froze and all the blood fell away from his face. Without thinking twice he drew his wand, but was stopped immediately when the person pointed his wand deeper into Hermione's neck.

"Jerry, what are you doing?" Harry watched Sally pull on Hermione's hair so her white neck was exposed to the point of Jerry's wand.

Sally turned around and walked over to Harry then she knocked the wand out of his hand,

"I told you if I can't have you, no one will have you, DEAR" Harry stared at the blonde and watched as the polyjuice wore off and the blonde's hair turned to red and the face morphed into Ginny's face.

"Ginny?" Harry looked at her with such disgust, he was so tempted to kill her himself. He looked back at Jerry and was shocked to see his poljuice wearing off and it was in fact, David Walker, the Auror from Australia.

"David, why the hell are YOU doing this, what has she promised you?"

"OH Harry, nothing, nothing at all, I did this free, anything to get back at you, you pompous arse. You always got the breaks didn't you, you were always the wonder boy, the one who was the head Auror, well I am better than you Harry Potter and I am going to prove it by taking away the one thing you hold dear" David ran his hand over Hermione's face and it was then that Harry noticed the bruises forming on her cheek bones.

"Actually maybe I will have some fun with her first, she is quite pretty" Harry moved forward but Ginny pushed the wand closer to his face. Harry felt the anger boiling up inside of him and then he remembered Sirius was still outside. He needed to think like an Auror. He needed to get the hostage safely out of this, regardless of the fact that she was the love of his life.

"Ginny what are you doing? why are you doing this?" Harry glanced over her shoulder and saw Sirius and moved so David would not see them.

"WHY, you have to ask,WHY?" Ginny laughed an insanely loud laugh and then walked closer to Harry.

"I nearly killed my own father, because of YOU, you bastard. Did you think you could leave me for that piece of TRASH?" Ginny turned and walked over to Hermione and slapped her across the face.

"That was for the hex, you stupid bitch" Harry moved forward but through the window, Sirius motioned for him to wait.

"Ginny, listen to me, you need help..."

"HELP, you prick, I don't need HELP, I need revenge and that is exactly what I am getting, thanks to your whore." Harry had slowly walked over to where his wand was laying on the floor. He stepped on it so he knew where it was and then as quick as a blink of an eye, he reached down and grabbed the wand. He shot the expelliarmus curse towards David as he was still leaning over Hermione, and his wand went flying away from him. Sirius burst in through the door and yelled 'Pertrificus totalus' towards Ginny before she had a chance to react. David was quicker to get his wand back and the duel began. David sent an unforgivable to Harry, the Cruciatos curse and when it hit Harry, he felt like his whole body was on fire. It didn't last long as Sirius sent a confundus charm towards David and he was momentarily confused and this was enough time for Harry to stun him and he fell to the floor solid as a rock.

"Harry, are you ok?" Hermione was struggling against her restraints, Harry rushed over and untied her. He picked her up and his eyes were swimming with tears.

"Mione, are you OK? I am so sorry baby, this will never happen again?" harry was holding her so tight she was struggling with her breathing.

"Harry, I am fine, it's over OK" Hermione looked over to Sirius and smiled, then she remembered her mother.

"Sirius, where is Mum, is she back at home?"

"No she is actually outside waiting for me to give her the all clear"

"What, Sirius how could you?"

"Mione, it all happened so quickly, we all just left and came here." Harry was sending a spell into the air to notify the Aurors that he had captured wanted criminals.

The next few hours were taken up with Harry and Hermione giving them their statements and then Ginny and David were sent to Azkaban, awaiting trial.

********

Ellen and Sirius were over the moon with the news and Ellen tried to convince Hermione to make it a double wedding.

"Mum, Harry is very well known in the wizarding world and if we make it a double wedding, your wedding would be washed away with the media circus that will follow, and I don't want that for you."

"But Hermione dear, you still need to have a wedding, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet Mum, I am still getting over the proposal, but it will be something quiet and romantic, just like the proposal."

Sirius and Harry arrived back with some dinner and they were sitting on the verandah enjoying the local dishes.

"Sirius, why don't you two stay here with us for a few days, we have heaps of room in the bungalow?"

"No Harry, we couldn't intrude, this is your time together." Ellen said.

"No, Mum, it's fine really, we would love for you two to see the island with us."

So it was settled, Sirius and Ellen agreed but only if they could take the room next door, and after the bookings were done, the two couples enjoyed a week of peace and quiet, for once.

On the last day of their wonderful holiday, Hermione received an owl, the one she had been expecting actually.

"Harry." she walked into the bathroom where he was finishing off his shower.

"Harry, they need us back to the Ministry as soon as possible, its Ginny's court case. Apparently it has been brought forward to tomorrow morning and they need us to testify." Harry walked over and hugged her tightly, "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Yes, I just want this over with, I want to live my life with some form of peace and quiet"

"You know love, you will never have peace and quiet being with me" Harry kissed her forehead and then heard Sirius and Ellen arrive, "See what I mean." they both laughed.

***************************

The couples packed up and left the beautiful resort and were now sitting in a room inside the ministry awaiting their names to be called to begin the trial.

"Hermione, are you sure you want to do this, Its ok if you want to wait?" Harry was holding her hand tightly and Sirius was on the other side holding her other hand.

"No Harry, I want to, I want it all out in the open and over and done with." Hermione leant into his chest and he kissed her head.

"It's ok guys, Professor Dumbledore is representing the two of you, and he will make sure things don't get out of hand" Sirius stated very matter of factly.

The large door opened and a man walked out saying the court was ready for them.

***************

The large courtroom was old and cold. The floors were made of a dark marble and the outer edges of the room were solid stone. If it wasn't so damn cold it would have been fascinating to be there. Professor Dumbledore walked in and went straight over to where they sat.

"Hermione, is everything OK, are you still happy to go with everything we discussed?"

"Yes sir we are, it's better this way, I want everything over and done with." Harry nodded and Professor Dumbledore nodded too.

The Minister of Magic entered the courtroom as well as Mr Robinson, the Minister of Magic, since his head Auror was also on trial. The offenders entered the room and Ginny looked seriously worse for wear. Her hair was matted and her face was hollow. Only a week in Azkaban had done that to her, imagine what a life sentence would do. David Walker entered next and threw Harry a filthy look. The court started and while the charges were being read out, the courtroom was entered by Mrs Weasley and Charlie Weasley.

The Minister read out the charges while Ginny and David sat there looking very smug. The Minister asked their representing officer if they wanted to take the stand. He motioned for Ginny to take the stand and she scuffled over and swore her oath. She then proceeded to tell the court how she was mistreated by Harry and this line was stricken as Dumbledore intervened. All her arguments were cut and she didn't have a leg to stand on by the time she finished.

Professor Dumbledore called Harry to take the stand first and after two hours of interrogation, the court went to a break. Professor Dumbledore assured them everything was going according to plan and the next person on the stand was Hermione.

"This court has resumed, please be silent. Professor Dumbledore please call your next witness." Professor Dumbledore looked over at Hermione and she nodded.

"I would like to call to the stand Mrs Hermione Potter" the courtroom broke out in murmurs but the

most noticeable was Ginny. She stood and charged towards Hermione screaming like a banshee. Mrs Weasley was crying and yelling and Charlie was trying to console her. She had to be escorted from the room. The Minister was hitting his gavel on his desk and the Australian Minister was motioning for guards to stop Ginny.

"LIAR, LIAR, LIAR" Ginny was screaming on the top of her lungs.

" BY MERLIN I WILL KILL YOU, YOU BITCH, AND THE NEXT TIME I WON'T MISS"

Hermione leant into Harry who had stood when the commotion had started.

"ORDER, ORDER" the two ministers screamed. Finally there was only a low murmur in the courtroom when the Minister spoke again.

"Professor Dumbledore, could you please repeat the name of your witness."  
"Yes Minister, it is MRS Hermione POTTER" Professor Dumbledore emphasised the Mrs and Potter so it was clear.

"Please approach the desk" Both the representing officers approached the desk and the Minister asked Professor Dumbledore what he was playing at.

"Nothing your honour, nothing at all, Mr Potter and Mrs Potter were wed in the Bahamas last week by the Bahamas Minister of Magic, and the wedding was true and lawful. There is no trick your honour, my two clients are legally married." The Minister looked at the other council and he shrugged his shoulders.

"You do realise the court will have to take the evidence presented and vote on Miss Weasley's case without any other interference from you." The councilman nodded, once Ginny had that outburst he knew he had lost the case, she was psychotic and there was no saving her now.

The court only deliberated for 25 minutes and Ginny was charged with intent to murder and two attempts of murder and she was given a life sentence in Azkaban and David Walker was charged with an accessory after the fact and was also charged with acting in an becoming way of an officer in a high position and was charged with ten years in Azkaban.

Harry held Hermione tight knowing full well there would be an onslaught of media outside waiting for her to comment.

"Are you absolutely sure Mione?" Sirius was concerned for his step daughter and Godson.

"Yeah, at least I got my romantic peaceful wedding." Hermione kissed Harry and turned to face the angry mob of reporters. She let her mind drift back to the night they decided to get married.

_It was the following day after Ginny and David's arrest and the Minister of Magic from the Bahamas dropped in to make sure they were ok._

"_I am very sorry this happened to you both while you were here. My office did receive notification that Miss Weasley had escaped and you were staying with us on our island, and even though we monitored the guests coming in very closely, she had already arrived."_

"_That's OK Minister, we certainly don't blame you or your office for her lunacy" Harry was shaking hands with the Minister. _

_The Minister turned to shake hands with Hermione, Sirius and Ellen, who were enjoying breakfast with the couple._

"_If there is anything I can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let me know" Hermione looked at Harry and her mother and Sirius. She had been giving this some serious thought since she was held captive. She wanted to marry Harry as soon as possible and this was the time. Her mother and Sirius was there with them and she didn't want anyone else._

"_Actually Minister there is one thing you could do for me, but can I have a word in private with Harry first please?" The Minister smiled and nodded. Hermione led Harry out onto the deck,_

"_Harry, did you mean what you said to me on the beach yesterday?" Harry was absolutely shocked she would even think something like that._

"_OF COURSE, why would you even ask me that? Hermione I love you more than anything in this world, and after nearly losing you I am more determined than ever to protect and look after you." Harry held her close and she could feel his heart beating and his body shaking from the intensity of everything that had happened recently._

"_Let's do it now, let's get married!" Harry pulled back shocked, he was sure she was going to say this was too hard and she was leaving._

"_Really, you want to get married now?" Harry saw the excitement in her eyes and knew she wasn't joking._

"_Yes Harry, I do, but what I wanted to ask was, is there anyone else you would have wanted to be here?" He knew where she was going with it and smiled a huge smile, "NO Mione, just you and Sirius and your Mum, that's it!"_

_They went back inside hand in hand and then Hermione asked her favour of the Minister._

_That evening Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Ellen met on the pink beach at 7pm. Hermione wore a cream slip dress that floated down over her slender body to her ankles and she held a small bunch of white Lilies. Harry wore black pants and a white shirt, with the top few buttons opened and he also had no shoes on.. He saw the Lilies and looked at her,_

"_These are for your mum." Harry smiled and nodded, unable to speak at this time due to the huge lump in his throat._

_The service was a traditional magical service where the bonds of the rings are tied for eternity, only to be separated by death, (there's no such thing as divorce in the magical world). The minister said his speech and then colours started shooting out from the tip of his wand. The colours turned to whispers of ribbons and they started by entwining themselves around the two left hands, then proceeded to engulf the couple. The first colour was yellow and that represented good health. The blue came next which gave the happy couple blessings for a family. The next colour was green and they were blessed with happiness for all their married life, then the final colour was a rainbow of all colours and sparkles shooting out from it, this represented the love the two had for each other and once this ribbon covered them, all the ribbons dissolved into the rings that joined them._

"_The magical binding of marriage has been performed Harry and Hermione, may you go together in peace, love and joy as Mr and Mrs Potter." The Minister shook their hands and then greeted Sirius and Ellen and then left the two couples to celebrate this new matrimony._

Harry squeezed her left hand that held the one carat square cut diamond engagement ring with the faded engraving inside, J & L and a newly engraved H & H, with a gold band sitting next to the ring sprinkled with diamonds throughout the band, with the engraving on it that said, Together Forever, and that's exactly what they would be, Together Forever.

The End.


End file.
